From kingdom to colony

THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

GIFT OF

WILLIAM P. WREDEN

FROM KINGDOM TO COLONY

FROM
KINGDOM TO COLONY

BY

MARY DEVEREUX

ILLUSr RATED BY HENRY SANDHAM

BOSTON

LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY
1899

Copyright, 1899,
BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.

A a rights reserved.

Hmbersttg press:
JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A.

SSol

tr

ILLUSTRATIONS

FROM DRAWINGS BY HENRY SANDHAM

" 'T is a grave state of affairs, Broughton " . . Frontispiece

"\ PAGE

" Aye ; at your service, Master John Devereux "... 34

" He moved back hastily, and missed his footing "... 99

" Your servant, fair mistress " 198

i " Oh, sir — I have come to beg that you will not hang the

English officer" 321

682975

From Kingdom to Colony

PROLOGUE

WHEN William, Duke of Normandy, invaded
England in 1066, and achieved for himself
the title of " Conqueror," one of those who accom
panied him was Robert D'Evreux, younger son of
Walter, Earl of Rosmar, feudal owner and ruler of the
town of his name in Normandy.

After the battle of Hastings, in which William won
so great a victory, he, wishing to honor the memory
of the noblemen and knights by whose aid it had
been accomplished, placed their names upon a roll
which was suspended in a stately pile, called " Battle
Abbey," erected by him upon the field of battle.

In the several exemplifications of " Battle Abbey
Roll," as it was termed, the name of Robert D'Evreux
is variously expressed as " Daveros," " Deverous,"
" Conte Devreux," and " Counte Devereux."

It was the close of an early May day in 1639.
Charles I. was reigning monarch of England, and the
Scotch Covenanters were disturbing his kingdom's
peace.

Against these malcontents Charles had sent his
army, and Robert Devereux, only son of the beheaded

2 From Kingdom to Colony

favorite of Elizabeth, and now third Earl of Essex,
had been made Lieutenant-General, he having
already, by his resolution and activity no less than
by his personal courage, done good service to the
King and won much honor for himself.

On this May day, in Warwick, far from all scenes
of war or rumors from court, Bromwich Castle, the
home of Sir Walter Devereux, Baronet — cousin and
present heir of the King's unmarried Lieutenant-
General — lifted its turrets, about whose clinging ivy
the late afternoon sunshine played golden and warm.

It was a huge pile, massively irregular in architec
ture, and its thick walls bore traces of those times
when a Baron of England was a power in the land, —
monarch of his domain, and chief of his own people.

A rugged old tower was its keep, flanked by four
symmetrical turrets, and crowned by a battlement
overlooking the whole country around. About these
clung ivy in a thousand thick wreaths ; and here and
there, where it was not, the centuries had woven a
fantastic tracery of moss, green as the ivy itself, and
delicate as frost-work.

What had been the moat was now but a pleasant
grassy hollow, carpeted thickly with golden cowslips
and fragrant violets, their growing lipped by a tiny
stream of purest water.

The castle was surrounded almost to its walls by
the forest of ancient oaks, spreading in all directions,
and becoming denser and more wild as it stretched
miles away. And here were the deer, numerous and
fat, that well supplied the larder for Sir Walter's
board, or cooled their sides amid the rankly growing

Prologue 3

brake and ferns, where naught troubled the intense
silence of the dusky aisles save the whir of the
pheasant, or the foot of the hare, light as the leaf
dropping from the green arch overhead.

Sir Walter was in the forest this day, and with him
were his three goodly sons, besides several retainers.
The notes of the horn had come faintly to the castle
now and again, as they pursued the chase ; and up in
her apartments Anne, the seventeen-year-old wife of
Sir Walter's youngest son, sat watching for a first
glimpse of the returning huntsmen.

Upon her knees lay an open volume, bound in
white vellum, and with clasps of pearl. It was richly
illuminated, every page presenting a picture gorgeous
with color, and it was a carefully narrated story of
travel and adventure in that far-away country across
the ocean for which she and her young husband were
soon to set sail.

She paused over one of the illustrations, and gazed
at it long and earnestly, while her agate-gray eyes
grew wide, and became filled with consternation. It
was the picture of an Indian chief, in all the formi
dable toggery of war dress and paint ; and his fierce
ness of mien brought to her young heart a hitherto
unknown dread and terror.

The golden of the sun was turning to rose, when a
clatter of hoofs and the sound of men's voices drew
her eyes toward the courtyard below.

Resting her dimpled arms upon the rough stone of
the window-ledge, she leaned over and smiled down
into the upturned face of her twenty-two-year-old
husband, whose dark eyes sought her casement ere

4 From Kingdom to Colony

he dismounted from his tired horse, which the esquire
at its head had now little need to hold. He waved
his hand to her, while a bright smile illumined his
grave face, and she responded by blowing him a kiss
from the tips of her taper ringers.

The old Baronet, who had been the first to dis
mount, looked up as well, and shook his hunting
spear at her.

"Ah, rogue!" he called out. "Wait till I catch
thee ! With never a kiss to spare thy old father ! "

Her fresh young laugh rang out gayly as she re
torted, " But I have many an one, if you choose,
good sir, as surely you wot right well."

" T is a dear child, — a sweet lass, Jack," the old
man said to his youngest son as the two entered the
castle side by side. " My heart misgives me at
thought of her going to the far-off heathen country,
amongst savages and wild beasts; for, alack, who
can tell what may befall there ? "

Behind them followed Leicester, Sir Walter's eldest
son, and beside him was young Will, — in his boy
hood a page, and now the heir's special esquire.
Walter, the next son, came after them, and then the
retainers.

These latter bore the deer slain that afternoon, —
a famous buck, with great spreading antlers ; and the
hounds were close by, sniffing about the carcass with
repressed excitement.

The three sons of Sir Walter Devereux were much
alike in coloring and stature, being tall and stal
wart, with broad shoulders, deep chests, and martial
bearing. Their faces were dark, with regular features

Prologue . 5

and full rounded foreheads, and the narrow, strongly
marked eyebrows arched over unusually large dark
eyes.

But the eyes of these three young men were totally
different in expression. Those of Leicester were apt to
glow with over-haughtiness ; for albeit proof was not
lacking to show that he had done kind deeds and was
a loyal friend and subject as well as a valiant soldier,
he was feared, rather than liked, by his subordinates.

Walter's eyes bespoke his true nature, — a rollick
ing one. Indeed an enemy of " Wat " Devereux were
a hard matter to find.

But, favorite though he was, his younger brother,
John, went far beyond him in this respect. His was
a quiet nature, much given to contemplation; one
that drew the best from all hearts about him. He had
been his mother's idol ; and his face was the last her
dying eyes sought three years before, as he sat, pale
and silent, by her bedside, calmly and prayerfully
awaiting her end. He it was to whom the old Baronet
always opened his heart, when the elder son's haughty
reserve perplexed or hurt him, or Walter's reckless
ness brought trouble.

Up in the dusking turret room, on the cushions by
the open casement, John Devereux now sat, dressed
for the evening meal.

Putting his strong arm about Anne, he drew her
head to his shoulder, and laughed when she showed
him the picture that had so affrighted her, while she
confided to him her fears lest some such demon
should work evil upon him in that strange land in
which they were about to find a new home.

6 From Kingdom to Colony

" Nay, sweetheart," he said earnestly, " never would
I think to take thee to such perils. There be few, if
any, such Indians in the country where we shall abide.
These writings treat of long-ago days, when goodly
English hearts were few on that shore. T is changed
now; and albeit somewhat rougher than here in our
father's castle, 't is every whit as safe. And think,
sweetheart," he added proudly, " we shall be the
head of our name in this new land, — the same as our
brother Leicester here, in old England."

She clung to him silently, while he stroked her soft
hair and bent his handsome head to see her face,
now smiling, and looking more reassured.

"Art thou still fearful, little one?" he asked
presently.

She lifted her face to look into his eyes, and
clasped her arms about his neck.

"Fearful?" she repeated. "Nay, not I, so long
as thou art with me."

He drew her head against his breast, and a brood
ing peace fell upon them, broken only by the cawing
of the rooks circling about the tower, or the melan
choly notes of the ringdoves ensconced amid the ivy
on the ancient turrets.

Across the broad Atlantic, on the rocky shore of
Marblehead, the May sun had been shining as golden
and warm as in old England; and the new home,
although lacking the renown which age and legend
had brought to every stone of Bromwich Castle, was
enveloped by the glory that comes from the love of
pure, brave hearts and God-fearing lives.

Prologue 7

Facing the open sea along a portion of the shore
of what is now known as Devereux and Clifton, lay
the acres — forest and meadow land — of which John
Devereux was owner. The house — a low, ram
bling stone building, of somewhat pretentious size
for those days, and fitted with stout oaken doors
and shutters — stood in a small clearing.

Only a few yards away were the sheds for cattle,
placed thus near for greater protection against thiev
ing Indians, as well as the pilfering pirates who at
rare intervals swept along the coast and descended
upon the unwary settler, in quest of food or booty.

The virgin forest rose all about, save to the south
west, where the fields were planted to the extent of
several acres; and beyond these the forest came
again, stretching away to the site of the present
town of Marblehead, more than a mile off.

In front of the house was a small open space where
the trees had been cut away and the undergrowth re
moved, that a glimpse might be obtained of the sea ;
and the land, sloping to the sands, ended in a noble
sweep of beach.

A mile or more to the south and southwest,
by Forest River, dwelt the Indians, their wigwams
not so many as a few years before; for want and
pestilence had sadly weakened the once proud
Naumkegs.

Their chief, the renowned Nanepashemet, was now
dead ; and the present ruler, his widow, the " Squaw
Sachem," was, like her tribe, too greatly broken by
the vicissitudes of fate to resist the encroachments of
the whites. And her only surviving son, Weenepau-

8 From Kingdom to Colony

weekin, or, as the settlers called him, " George," was
either indifferent, or else too wise to risk incurring
further trouble for his tribe by assuming other than
an amicable attitude toward his white neighbors.

And thus it was that between the settlers and the
Naumkegs all was at peace.

The wife of Weenepauweekin, Ahawayet by name,
was well known to Anne Devereux and her husband ;
and both she and her daughter, a girl of seventeen,
were frequent visitors at the house of the " Eng
lish Chief," as John Devereux was called by the
Indians.

In her own gentle, coaxing way, Anne had under
taken to instruct Ahawayet in the Christian faith, and
hoped to impress also the wayward, wild-eyed daugh
ter, Joane, who would sometimes come from her
dignified playing with the children of the " English
Chief" to crouch by her mother, and listen to these
teachings.

When the news of Sir Walter's death had come
across the sea, tears gathered in Anne's eyes as she
raised them to those of her sad-faced husband.

" I cannot but think," she said, " on Sir Walter's
face, as we saw it fade away while we stood on the
ship's deck that morn, with the tears streaming down
his cheeks like I never saw them come from a man's
eyes before."

"Aye," her husband added, "he was a dear, good
father, and a friend as well. God grant that we and
them that come after us do naught to bring reproach
or sorrow to the name he hath worn, as have so many
before him, with pride, and right good dignity."

Prologue 9

The sun was sinking fast, and the odor of the
forest growths was beginning to mingle with the
tang of the sea.

The voices of men and women busy about the
cattle and milking were making a cheerful sound of
life and bustle from the sheds and outhouses ; and
on the low-roofed porch in front of the house door,
overhung with drooping vines, John Devereux's three
sons, Humphrey, John, and Robert, were busy at
play.

But they were not too busy to pause now and then
to send searching glances into the forest in quest of
their father, whom they all united in adoring as the
wisest and greatest of created beings.

Humphrey, the eldest, was looking forward proudly
to his ninth birthday, now almost at hand, when he
was to have the promise fulfilled of being permitted
to go along with his father to hunt in the forest, or
out on the sea, to fish.

Near them sat their mother, stouter and more
matronly than the slender Anne of ten years ago.
The aforetime dainty hands were not guiltless of toil
stains, and the dark hair was now gathered beneath
a snowy mobcap, with only here and there a short,
wayward curl stealing out to trail across her brow or
touch her pretty ears.

A sudden shout from the boys announced their
father's appearance, as he came out of the woods and
across the clearing, and with him Noah, the darkey
servant, well loaded with game.

" Thou hast had a most successful hunt ! " exclaimed
Anne, smiling a bright welcome into her husband's

io From Kingdom to Colony

fond eyes, while the children's small hands clung to
him, and tiny brown fingers were poked into the
mouths of dead rabbits, or tweaked their whiskers
to see if they were really dead, or tried to pull open
the beaks and eyes of slain birds.

" Aye," was his laughing reply, as he gently freed
himself from the little clinging hands ; " and I have
found more in the forest than game alone, in that I
have a most ferocious appetite, — one I trust thou
wilt have a plenty to satisfy."

" Give the game to David," said Anne, as a younger
and smaller edition of Noah approached, " and come
thou within and see, for the supper hath been ready
this half hour."

An hour later the children were all safely in Nod-
land, and husband and wife were sitting either side
the fireplace, where the burning wood was pleasant
to feel, for a chill had crept into the air. But the
outer door was open, and through it came the hoarse
notes of the frogs down in the swampy lands, min
gled with the roar of the surf along the near-by
shore.

They sat in silence, each content with the other's
nearness, as they watched the leaping flames, which
made the only light in the room. And this was re
flected in a thousand scintillating sparks from the
brass fire-dogs that upheld the logs, and in the
handles of the shovels and tongs, scrubbed and
polished with all the power of arm possessed by
Shubar, the Indian wife of old Noah.

Suddenly a lithe, girlish form slipped through the
half-open door, coming with a tread as noiseless as

Prologue 1 1

the leaping shadows about the far corners of the
room, and Joane, the Squaw Sachem's granddaugh
ter, glided to the hearth and stood between John
Devereux and his wife.

So accustomed were they to such things that
neither of them was startled, but kindly bade her
welcome.

Crouching on the hearth, she turned her dusky
face and glittering eyes toward John Devereux, and
said quietly and in a low voice, " Strange boat — big
boat in harbor, English Chief."

He looked troubled, and Anne glanced at him
apprehensively, while Joane continued, now speak
ing more rapidly, " Gran'mudder sent me tell better
keep door shut — better get gun."

" Thou dost mean that the Squaw Sachem sent
thee to tell there be danger? " John Devereux asked,
half rising from his chair, and looking toward the
door. "She thinks they mean evil?"

" Don't know how answer. English Chief talk too
fast — ask too many questions all same time. Go
slow — then Joane hear right — tell him right."
And she smiled up into his face while she touched
the slender forefinger of her left hand with the fingers
of the right, as if waiting to enumerate his questions.

" Thy grandmother sent thee? "

The girl nodded, and touched a second finger.

"She thinks the men on the ship may do us
harm?"

" Say don't like looks — got bad black faces,"
replied Joane, scowling as though to illustrate her
meaning.

1 2 From Kingdom to Colony

" Have any of them come ashore yet?" he asked
anxiously.

" Yes — so many," holding up seven brown fingers,
" come 'shore. Get water to drink — then go back
to ship when sun shines. But no go 'way yet — no
mean to go. Tell gran'mudder want somethin' eat.
Take our corn, and pay no money."

" Pirates ! " John Devereux exclaimed, now start
ing to his feet, while he looked at his wife, whose
face paled.

He hurried across the room, bolted and barred the
stout door, and examined the window fastenings, the
Indian girl still crouching by the hearth and watch
ing him placidly, as if a pirate raid were a matter of
small moment.

But her sparkling eyes, and the heaving bosom
agitating the many bead necklaces hanging from
throat to waist, betrayed her.

" See thou to the children, sweetheart, and warn
the maids," John Devereux said to his wife, as he
took down his gun and examined it carefully, " while
I go to the men and see that the cattle be safe, and
the back of the house made secure."

" Good ! " exclaimed Joane, with quick approval.
" English Chief no sleep — heap good. Give Joane
gun, too."

" Had thou not best return to the wigwam, Joane,
and to the Squaw Sachem?" inquired Anne, paus
ing as she was about to leave the room.

"What go for?" the girl demanded, while her eyes
flashed with fierce intensity. " No good go — can
fight here — fight good, too. Joane stay and fight

Prologue i ^

by English Chief and his ' Singing Bird,' " — this
being the name given by the Naumkegs to Anne,
on account of her musical voice.

Knowing that nothing would turn Joane when once
her ideas were fixed, and knowing too that her skill
with the bow and gun was equal to that of any
warrior, Anne was silent, — grateful indeed for any
addition to the slender force at hand for defence.

There were in all but nine men, servants and labor
ers, — two of them white, and the others either
Africans or Indians; but they were all, saving old
Noah, young, stalwart, and fearless.

John Devereux posted these men in the outbuild
ings and sheds, as cattle were generally the spoil
sought by the marauders when they visited the coast.
And when assigning them their positions, he warned
them, should they find themselves in danger of being
overpowered, to give a signal and retreat to the house,
where a side-door would be opened for their entrance.
Then, having left with them a plentiful supply of am
munition, he went within to mount guard over his
wife and babies.

He had five guns wherewith to arm his household,
without counting his own piece, and every woman in
his service was acquainted with their use. Even
Anne herself had, under his own tuition, become no
mean markswoman.

Within doors he found the women greatly excited,
and fluttering about aimlessly ; but a few quiet words
soon brought order amongst them, and with it a re
turn of their courage. Then, having accomplished
this, he went once more through the house, from

14 From Kingdom to Colony

the rooms downstairs to the low-ceilinged sleeping
apartments above, and satisfied himself that all was
secure.

In the nursery he found his wife looking at the
little boys, who were lying on two great bags of tick
ing, stuffed with the feathers of wild geese, and
placed on the floor, in lieu of bedsteads.

They were sleeping soundly, oblivious of the alarm
about the house; and standing beside his wife, his
arm around her waist, John Devereux looked down
at them.

On one of the pallets lay Humphrey, his strong
young arms outstretched, and his chest — broad for
his years, and finely developed — showing white as
alabaster where the simple linen garment was rarely
buttoned by his impatient fingers.

On the other were the two younger boys; and
Robert, the gentlest of the three, with his father's
own winsome nature, lay with his head half pillowed
against his brother John's shoulder.

" What a blessed thing is childhood, and ignorance
of danger ! " murmured Anne, looking at her
husband.

" Aye," he said softly, as they turned away. " So
may we know no fear of dangers that threaten, sweet
wife, while we trust to Him who watcheth us, — who
' slumbers not, nor sleeps.' "

And as she had answered him ten years before, so
she said to him now, " So long as we be together, I
have no fear."

A long and shrill sound now broke the silence. It
was the blowing of the conch shell suspended in

Prologue 1 5

front of the outer door ; and it announced a visitor
seeking admission.

Surprised at this, and alarmed as well, husband
and wife hurried to the front room below stairs,
where they found Joane still crouched upon the
hearth. Her bow, now unslung, lay close at hand,
and she was examining with pleased curiosity the
clumsy blunderbuss resting across her knees, — one
that John, at her earnest request, had intrusted to
her.

"No enemy — make heap too much noise," was
her sententious remark, as she looked up from her
inspection of the weapon.

" Mayhap they but do that to disarm us," John
replied, as he went cautiously toward the door.

He knew there was no way, except from the beach,
for any one to approach the house unseen by his
faithful outposts. And he had reckoned upon no
attack coming from that quarter, as there was no
sailing breeze. Then, again, the pirates would be
more likely to come from the direction of the forest,
hoping to effect a greater surprise than if they came
from the water.

The wailing cry of the conch shell pierced the air
for the second time, to echo again in falling cadences
that died away in the woods and over the sea.

Placing his lips to the foophole near the door, John
Devereux now demanded to know who was outside.

A nasal, whining voice replied ; and although the
words were indistinguishable, their sound caused the
Indian girl to laugh scornfully.

She said nothing, however, but springing quickly

1 6 From Kingdom to Colony

to her feet, sped to the small opening. Then, before
her purpose could be understood, she thrust the
muzzle of the blunderbuss through the aperture.

" Hold, Joane ! " commanded John, as he caught
her arm. " What is 't thou wouldst do, — kill, per
chance, an innocent man? Put the gun down, child,
until I challenge again, and know for a surety who it
be. Methinks the voice hath a familiar sound."

Joane obeyed him, still smiling maliciously as she
said : " Only want give him heap big scare. Him big
'fraid — him coward."

" 'T is Parson Legg ! " exclaimed Anne, now recall
ing the piping voice, and enlightened by Joane's con
temptuous words.

Her husband opened the door, and a slim, weazen-
faced, bandy-legged little man stepped hastily within,
his eyes, small and keen as those of a ferret, blinking
from the sudden passing out of darkness into light.

" Good e'en to thee, Parson Legg ; thou art late
abroad," said Anne, coming forward. She did not
smile, nor was there aught of welcome in her voice
or manner.

But this lack of cordiality was not felt by the un
expected visitor, for he doffed his steeple-crowned
hat, which, like the rest of his apparel, was much the
worse for wear, and responded briskly, " Good e'en,
Mistress Anne, an' the same to you, neighbor John;
I hope the Lord's blessin' is upon all within this
abode. Ah, who have ye here?" and he peered
down at Joane, who had resumed her place before
the fire, her back turned squarely toward Parson
Legg as he stood in the centre of the room.

Prologue 1 7

He came closer to her, but for all the notice she
vouchsafed of his words or presence she might have
been one of the brass fire-dogs upholding the blazing
logs.

" 'T is the Squaw Sachem's granddaughter, Joane,"
replied John Devereux, turning from the door, which
he had refastened.

" Aye, so it be," said the little man ; " one o' the
unregenerate heathen, upon whom, if they turn not
from their idolatrous ways, shall descend smitings
sore from the Lord. Hip an' thigh shall they be
smitten, and their places shall know them no more."

" Joane hath no idols, good sir, that I know on,"
said his host, as he came forward and offered the
visitor a seat, and then took one himself by the door.
" She seemeth ever ready to heed the words of my
good wife, and our babes could not have a more
gentle playfellow."

Anne had seated herself near Joane, by the fire;
and she looked with no very friendly eyes at the
Parson, as she said, " Think you not, good sir, it were
better to chide the 'unregenerate heathen,' as you
call them, with more gentleness?"

His little eyes narrowed into yet meaner lines as he
fixed them upon her face. Then leaning forward to
lay a finger upon the gun that again lay across Joane's
knees, he answered, " It would seem but poor excuse
to prate o1 gentleness to one who at unseemly hours
and seasons goeth about with death-dealin' weapons,
seekin' whom she may devour."

The Indian girl still sat immovable; a statue
could not have appeared more bereft of hearing or

i 8 From Kingdom to Colony

speech. But to Anne's face there came a look of fine
scorn, which softened however into almost a smile as
she glanced at her husband.

" Joane came to warn us of danger," John said
quietly. " She tells us there is a strange ship in
harbor, and we be now armed to guard against
pirates, — for such they promise to be."

Parson Legg sprang to his feet as though stung by
a passing insect.

" Pirates ! " he repeated, in a shrill cry of alarm.
" Pirates, — say ye so? I heard naught o' such matter.
I was in the woods hereabout all the afternoon, readin'
the psalmody, an' makin' joyful melody unto the
Lord, till darkness o'ertook me, an' I bethought my
self to make my way to this abode, neighbor John, as
peradventure thou an' Mistress Anne, thy wife, would
give me food an' shelter in the Lord's name till
mornin'."

Parson Legg was only an itinerant preacher, having
long striven, but without avail, to be accepted by the
colonists as successor to their late beloved pastor, the
Reverend Hugh Peters, who had gone to England
some years before to act as their agent, and was
likely to remain there for some time to come, being
now a chaplain in the army of Cromwell.

But Legg was entirely unfitted, both by birth and
education, for the position to which he aspired. He
was selfish and irritable, with a grasping, worldly
nature, despite his outward show of humility and
sanctity, and was regarded by the colonists with
suspicion and illy concealed dislike, while the Indians
held him in positive hatred.

Prologue 1 9

Since the summer day, two years before, when he
had come upon Joane in the forest, attired in the
manly habiliments of her tribe, — this being only for
greater convenience while hunting — and had hurled
at her young head anathemas such as fairly smelled
of brimstone, it had been open war between the two ;
and the very sight of one to the other was like that of
a plump kitten to a lively terrier.

Anne had by this time set forth a meal upon the
table, and notwithstanding his recent fright, Parson
Legg's little eyes glistened voraciously as he drew up
his chair, while he smacked his thin lips more as
would a sturdy yeoman, than like a meek and lowly
follower of the creed which crucifies the flesh and its
appetites.

John still kept his seat by the door, his keen ears
listening intently for any unusual sound without,
while Parson Legg crunched away at the venison and
corn bread, — doing this with more gusto than was
pleasant for either eye or ear.

Anne had left the room, motioning to Joane to
follow her, and an intense silence seemed to lie about
the house, save as it was broken by the sputtering of
the fire upon the hearth and the sound of Parson
Legg's gastronomic vocalism, and now and then the
subdued murmur of women's voices from one of the
rooms in the rear.

A sudden roar of firearms, followed by wild yells
and cries without, shattered the peaceful brooding of
the place, and caused Parson Legg to spring wildly
from his chair.

" The heathen are upon us ! " he gasped, his articu-

20 From Kingdom to Colony

lation being somewhat impeded by the presence of a
huge piece of venison in his mouth. " The heathen
are come upon us with riotin' an' slaughter ! John —
John Devereux, hide me, I beseech thee, — hide me
from their vengeance. I am a man o* peace, an'
the sight o' bloodshed is somethin' I could ne'er
abide."

John paid no attention to the terrified little man,
but springing up with an impetuosity that sent his
chair flying across the room, stood erect and scowl
ing, his face turned toward the sounds of strife, and
his strong fingers gripping his gun.

"Anne — wife — where art thou?" he cried, as the
din increased, and more shots were fired.

" Here." And she quietly entered the room, her
face pale, but perfectly calm. "The noise hath
awakened the little boys, but I have left Shubar with
them, and promised to return shortly."

"Where is Joane?" her husband asked quickly.

" With Shubar and the boys."

" Good ; for then there be one gun near, to assure
the little ones."

He had been nervously fingering the hammer of
his own piece, and while speaking he crossed the
room and took a position near that side of the house
from whence came the sound of firearms.

Anne remained by the hearth, watching him
closely, her tightly clenched hands being all that
told of the agitation within.

" Are the little ones much affrighted ? " he asked.

"No," she said, still in her calm, sweet fashion;
" they do not seem to be — that is, not much.

Prologue 2 1

Humphrey begged that he might have a gun, and
Robert sat quiet, looking at me with eyes so like
your own as he asked, ' Art fearful, mother? Father
will ne'er let them hurt us.' "

John Devereux smiled proudly, for the moment
forgetting the din about them.

"And John," he asked, — "what said our second
son?"

" He seemeth most affrighted of all," she replied.
" He wept at first, and hid his face in my gown ; but
he was calm when I came away. Thou knowest,
John, that the lad hath not been well since the fever,
last fall."

" Aye, true, — poor little Jack ! " the father said.
And he now wondered what might have happened
outside, for there was a ceasing of the uproar.

He listened intently a moment. " Methinks, sweet
heart, I'd best go outside and see what this silence
doth mean. Thou 'It not be fearful if I leave the
house awhile?"

She grew still paler, but only shook her head.
Then she asked suddenly, " Where be Parson
Legg?"

Husband and wife looked about the room, and
then at one another.

" He was here when the firing began," said John,
finding it difficult not to smile as he recalled the
scene.

" But wherever can he have gone? " persisted Anne.

" Hiding somewhere, I warrant me," was her hus
band's reply. " He is an arrant — "

His words were drowned by the roar of a blunder-

22 From Kingdom to Colony

buss, coming apparently from just over their heads,
and this was followed a moment later by a wild yell
of triumph from outside.

It was from John's men, and he started to open
the door. But before he could do this there arose
such a clamor in the nursery above that he and
Anne, forgetful of all else, sped up the stairway.

Old Shubar's voice came to them raised in shrill
cries, echoed by those of the boys, — only that
Humphrey and Robert seemed to speak more from
indignation than fright.

Wondering what it could all mean, they hurried
into the room, where an absurd sight met their
alarmed eyes.

In one corner, beside Humphrey's pallet, stood
Shubar, still uttering the wild shrieks they had heard,
and huddling about her were the three boys, — John
clinging to her gown, while Humphrey and Robert,
both facing about, were shouting at a strange figure
that burrowed frantically into the pallet occupying
the opposite corner of the chamber.

" Shubar says 't is a witch," cried Robert. " Take
thy gun and slay her before she bring evil upon us."

" Be quiet, my son," said his father, scarcely able
to repress his laughter, for at the sound of his voice
Parson Legg's weazened face, all blanched by fear,
was lifted from out the pillows, and a pair of terror-
stricken eyes peered over his shoulder.

He had been lying face downward, partially cov
ered by the bedclothes, under which he was still
trying to conceal himself; and his steeple-crowned
hat, now a shapeless wreck, was pulled down over

Prologue 23

his ears, as if to shut out more effectually the sounds
of strife that had well-nigh bereft him of reason.

" It would seem thou canst preach far better,
Parson Legg, than defend thyself from the enemy,"
John Devereux said rather grimly, looking down
with unconcealed contempt upon the little coward,
while Anne busied herself in reassuring the children
and quieting Shubar's angry mutterings.

" Even so, neighbor John, even so," answered the
Parson, in no wise disconcerted at the sarcasm of
the other's words and tone, and making no movement
to emerge from his retreat. " As I told thee below,
I am a man o' peace, an' I like not the sound o'
war an' the sight o' bloodshed. But what doth this
silence portend? — are the enemy routed, — are they
vanquished, an' put down, smitten hip an' thigh, an'
put to flight by thy brave followers? "

His anxious queries met with no reply, for John
Devereux, who was standing upon the threshold of
the room, had become conscious of a sharp current
of air blowing upon his cheek. It told him that the
scuttle was open overhead, and turning about, he
darted swiftly up the ladder.

He was soon upon the roof, and here he stood a
few moments and looked keenly about.

The voices of his men came to him from the
ground below. They had left their concealment, and
the lightness of their tones told him that all danger
was past.

As his eyes became more accustomed to the gloom,
the dim starlight revealed to him the outlines of a form
crouching behind the great chimney not far away.

24 From Kingdom to Colony

" Joane ! " he called softly, suspecting who it might
be.

She arose and came to him, and he heard her
laughing to herself.

"What earnest thou up here for?" he demanded,
speaking quite sharply.

"Joane shoot pirate captain," she answered, still
laughing. "Heap scare 'em — no know where shot
come from — all run away to ship."

And so it proved. The marauders, having received
a very different reception from the one they had ex
pected, were utterly discomfited when an unseen
enemy — in the person of Joane and her blunderbuss
— scattered a mighty charge of slugs and bullets in
their midst. Their leader was struck in the arm, and
fearing they had fallen into an ambuscade from
which it would be difficult to escape, he shouted to
his men that he was wounded, and bade them fly to
the ship.

This was the last of the raids that had so annoyed
the colonists, and thenceforth they were free from such
molestation.

John Devereux's days passed on, full of peace and
pleasantness, until he died at a ripe old age, respected
and loved by all his fellow-townsmen, and mourned
deeply by the faithful wife who did not long survive
him.

The boys lived to man's estate, were married, and
had children of their own. But Humphrey and John
died in their father's lifetime; and so it was that
Robert, the second son, became the heir.

From Kingdom to Colony 25

CHAPTER I

MARBLEHEAD, and July, in the year of our
Lord 1774.

In the harbor (now known as Great Bay) the water
lay, a smooth, glistening floor of amethystine hue,
shut in protectively by the " Neck," thrust out like a
strong arm between it and the rougher sea beyond,
stretching, purple and endless, to the rim of the
cloudless horizon.

To the north and northwest lay the islands, the
nearer ones sharply outlined in trees and verdure,
but showing here and there a grayness of beach or
boulder, like the bald spot among some good man's
otherwise plentiful locks.

Looking eastward, Cat Island was closest of all to
the mainland, the charred ruins upon it showing
sharply in the brilliant afternoon sunshine ; and here,
amid the desolation, a few of the blackened timbers
still remained upright, like arms lifted in protest
against the vengeance visited upon the hospital a
short time before by the well-meant zeal of the
infuriated townsfolk.

In August of the previous year, during an epidemic
of smallpox, a meeting was called in the townhouse,
and Elbridge Gerry, John Glover, Azor Orne, and
Jonathan Glover petitioned that a hospital be built on
Cat Island, for the treatment of smallpox patients, or

26 From Kingdom to Colony

else that the town permit certain individuals to do
this at their own expense.

The town refused to build the hospital, but gave
permission to the individuals to construct one, pro
vided the adjoining town of Salem gave its consent ;
it being also stipulated that the hospital should be so
regulated as to shield the inhabitants of Marblehead
from any " danger of infection " therefrom.

The necessary approval having been obtained from
Salem, preparations were made in September for
erecting the hospital.

By this time some of the people of Marblehead
had become impressed with the fear that by the es
tablishing of the hospital the dread disease would
become a prevailing pest amongst them. Their ter
ror made them unreasonable, and they now fiercely
opposed the scheme to which they had once given their
consent, and demanded that the work be abandoned ;
but the proprietors, filled with indignation at what
they considered rank injustice, persisted in carrying
out their worthy project to completion.

In October the hospital was finished, and placed
in charge of an eminent physician from Portsmouth,
who had attained a wide reputation for his success in
the treatment of smallpox. Several hundred patients
came under his care, with gratifying results. But a
few had died, and this fact brought about bitter
and active hostility from the malcontents. They
demanded that the place be abandoned at once;
and threats of violence began to be made.

The feeling gained in strength and intensity, until
at length the proprietors gave up the contest And

From Kingdom to Colony 27

then, to assure themselves that the hospital should
not be reopened, a party of the townspeople, closely
disguised, crossed to Cat Island one night in the
following January, and left the buildings in flames.

But now these summer weeks found the town ex
cited and tumultuous over still graver matters. The
British government had found it impracticable to en
force the duty upon tea, and resorting to subterfuge,
adopted a compromise whereby the East India Com
pany, hitherto the greatest losers by the diminution of
its exports from Great Britain, was authorized to send
its goods to all places free of duty.

Although the tea would now become cheaper for
the colonists, they were not deceived by this new
ministerial plan. And when the news was received
that the East India Company had freighted ships
with tea consigned to its colonial agents, meetings
were held to devise measures to prevent the sale or
unloading of the tea within the province.

The agents, when waited upon by the committee
chosen for that purpose in Boston, refused flatly to
promise that the tea should not be unloaded or sold
by them ; and they were forthwith publicly stigma
tized as enemies to their country, and resolutions
were adopted providing that they, and all such,
should be dealt with accordingly.

In December, 1773, the historical "Tea Party"
took place in Boston harbor; and in the following
spring Governor Hutchinson resigned, and General
Thomas Gage was appointed in his stead.

Bill after bill was passed in Parliament and sanc
tioned by the King, having in view but the single

28 From Kingdom to Colony

object of bringing the people of Massachusetts to
terms. The quartering of English troops in Boston
was made legal. Town meetings were prohibited
except by special permission from the Governor.
And finally the infamous " Port Bill " was passed,
which removed the seat of government to Salem, and
closed the port of Boston to commerce.

In July subscriptions were being solicited by or
der of the town of Marblehead for the relief of the
poor of Boston, who were suffering from the opera
tion of the " Port Bill," and all the buildings which
could be utilized, even to the town-house, were
placed at the disposal of the merchants, for the
storage of their goods.

In defiance of Parliament, whose act had practically
suppressed all town meetings, the people of Marble-
head continued to assemble and express their views,
and discuss the grave questions then agitating the
entire country. The very air of the sea seemed to
murmur of war and the rumors of war; and the
hearts of thinking men and women were heavy with
forebodings of the struggle they felt to be imminent.

But the little town was lying brooding and peace
ful this July afternoon. Its wooded hills to the west
sent shadows across the grassy meadows and slopes,
rising and falling to meet the sand-beaches, or ending
in the headlands of granite that made sightly out
looks from which to scan the sea for threatening
ships.

Under the pines that made shadows along the
way, a horseman was going leisurely along the road
leading to the Fountain Inn.

From Kingdom to Colony 29

To his left lay level meadow lands, rising into hills
as they neared the inn, the old Burial Hill — the
town's God's Acre — being highest of all. To his
right, the green fields and marshes stretched un
broken to the sea, save for here and there a clump of
bushes and tangled vines, or a thicket of wild roses.

The road before him ended in two branches, one
leading to the rising ground on the right, where
stood the Fountain Inn, while to the left it terminated
in a sandy beach, before which stretched the peace
ful waters of Little Harbor, now whitened with the
sails of East Indian commerce, and the craft belong
ing to the fishing fleets that plied their yearly trade
to the " Banks " and to Boston.

No large ship could come nigh the shore in Little
Harbor ; whereas in the deep bay lying between the
Neck and the town, the enemy's vessels might anchor
by the land itself. And here the townsfolk kept a
most active lookout, which left the hills and beaches
of Little Harbor almost deserted.

30 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER II

THE bridle was lying slack upon the neck of the
horse, who picked his way carefully along the
road, his hoofs now clicking over the stony highway,
now falling noiselessly upon the brown pine needles.
And the occasional clatter of his shoes, or the busy
chatter of a squirrel high up in a tree, were the only
sounds to interrupt the musings of the stalwart rider,
whose head was bowed, and whose eyes strayed
moodily about.

He was dark and tall, well knit, and of powerful
build, yet lithe and graceful. The wandering breeze
whipped out stray curling locks about his ears and
temples from the mass of dark hair done up in a
queue. The broad-brimmed riding-hat was pulled
well down over his strongly marked brows, and the
smooth-shaven face betrayed the compressed lips of
the large but finely formed mouth.

A flash of something white speeding across the
road a few yards in front of him caused the dark
eyes to open wide, and brought his musings to a
sudden end.

Across the marshes to the left he caught a glimpse
of twinkling feet, encased in low steel-buckled shoes
that seemed to be bearing away from him a fleeting
cloud of white drapery.

From Kingdom to Colony 31

It was a female, with her so-called " cut " (a dress-
skirt so narrow and straight as to make rapid move
ment very difficult) thrown up over her head and
shoulders, as she went over the grass toward the
beach at the side of the road facing the Neck.

Recognizing her at once, the horseman called out,
" Dorothy ! " and spurred his horse out of the road
and across the marsh.

As though hearing him, she paused, and with
out lowering the " cut," turned to look over her
shoulder.

The wind, catching her dress, blew the white folds
aside, showing a roguish face, and one bearing a
strong family resemblance to the man in pursuit.
But her features were small and delicate, while his,,
although not lacking in refinement, were far bolder
in strength of outline.

She had the same dark eyes, set far apart under
delicate but firmly marked brows, — the same swart
curling lashes, and riotous locks.

But here the likeness ceased ; for while his face
was grave, and full of a set purpose and resolution,
hers was almost babyish, and full of witchery, with a
peachy bloom coming and going in the rounded
cheeks.

She was panting a little from her running, and now
stood, waiting for him to speak, her red lips parted
in a mocking smile that showed two rows of little
teeth, white as the meat of a hazel-nut.

"What mischief have you been up to, you little
rogue, and why are you running away from me?" he
asked. He spoke with quiet good nature, but looked

32 From Kingdom to Colony

down at her with an elder brother's reproof showing
in his face.

She did not answer, but only glanced up at him
from the sheltering folds of the skirt, billowing
about her face like a cloud, while the horse, recog
nizing a loved playmate, whinnied, and bowed
his head to her shoulder as if mutely begging a
caress.

" You have been to see Moll Pitcher again," the
young man asserted ; " and you know our father
would be angry that you should do it And 't is
very wrong, Dorothy, in these times, that you should
be over in this part of the town alone."

Her brother called her so rarely by her full name
that a change from the caressing " Dot " to the sol
emn-sounding " Dorothy " was a sure mark of his
displeasure.

The smile died from her face, and her eyes fell.
But she looked mutinous, as she raised a small hand
to stroke the horse's nose.

" I did not come alone, Jack," she explained.
" Leet rowed me over, and Pashar came with us ; and
I had little 'Bitha, too."

" An old darkey, who sits dozing in the boat, half
a mile away from you, with his twelve-year-old
grandson, and little Tabitha! These make a fine
protection, truly, had you met with soldiers or other
troublesome people," he said, with some sarcasm.
" Do you not know there was a new vessel, filled with
British soldiers, went into Salem harbor yesterday —
and belike they are roaming about the country
to-day? " He switched his riding-boot as he spoke,

From Kingdom to Colony 33

scowling as though the mention of the matter had
awakened vengeful thoughts.

"Hugh Knollys has but just ridden over from
Salem; and he said they were all housed there,
along with the Governor," the girl said eagerly, glad
to find something to say in her defence, as well as to
turn the current of her brother's thoughts.

" Hugh Knollys ! " he repeated. " Has he been
at our house this day? "

" No-o," she answered hesitatingly. " We met
him just now as we came out of Moll's. He is at the
Fountain Inn."

" We," he said, a smile showing about the corners
of his lips. " Are you His Gracious Majesty, Dot,
that you speak of yourself as ' We ' ? "

At the sound of her baby name, all the bright
ness returned to her face, and glancing up at him,
she whispered mischievously, " Look in the thicket
behind you."

He turned to send a keen glance into the clump of
bushes and vines growing some dozen yards closer
to the road he had just left; and there he caught a
glimpse of pale blue — like female raiment — showing
amid the foliage.

Wheeling his horse quickly, he rode toward it;
and what he now saw was a tall, blonde girl of eigh
teen or thereabouts, who arose slowly from where
she had been hiding, and came forward with a dignity
that savored of defiance, although there seemed to be
a smile lurking in the corners of her mouth.

Her gypsy hat hung by its blue ribbons on one
white rounded arm, bared to the elbow, as the fashion

3

34 From Kingdom to Colony

of her sleeve left it. The neck of her pale blue gown
was low cut; but a small cape of the same material
was over it, — crossed, fichu-wise, on her bosom, and
then carried under the arms, to be knotted at the back.

Her round white throat rose out of the sheer blue
drapery in fine, strong lines, to support a regal head,
crowned with a glory of pale brown hair, now bared
to the sun, and glinting as though golden sparkles
were caught in its silky meshes.

As she approached, the rider held up his horse,
and sat motionless, staring at her, while a merry peal
of laughter, silvery as chiming bells, broke from six
teen-year-old Dorothy.

" Mary Broughton ! " the young man exclaimed at
length, as he looked wonderingly at the fair-haired
girl.

She paused a yard away and swept him a mocking
courtesy as she said, — and her musical voice was of the
quality we are told is " good in woman," — " Aye ;
at your service, Master John Devereux."

"Then you have been with our madcap here?"
he asked, now finding his tongue more readily.

"All the afternoon — an it please you, sir," she
replied in the same tone of playful irony.

" It does please me," he said, now with a smile,
" for it was much better than had Dot been alone, as
I supposed at first. But think you it is safe for you
two girls to come wandering over here by your
selves?" And in the look of his dark eyes, in the
very tone of his voice, there was something different,
— more caressing than had been found even for his
small sister, who had now drawn close to them.

From Kingdom to Colony 35

Mary Broughton slipped her arm through Doro
thy's, and the mockery left her face.

" I suppose not," she answered frankly. " But, to
tell the truth, I had not thought of such a thing until
you mentioned it. We 've not met a soul, save Hugh
Knollys, who was riding into the inn yard as we came
from Moll Pitcher's."

" And so you have been to consult Moll's oracle? "
the young man said banteringly.

The white lids fell over the honest blue eyes that
had been looking straight up into his own. The girl
seemed greatly embarrassed, and her color deepened,
while Dorothy only giggled, and slyly pinched the
arm upon which her slender fingers were resting.

Mary gave her a quick glance of reproof. Then
she raised her eyes and said hesitatingly, "We heard
she was down from Lynn, on a visit to her father."

" You girls are bewitched with Moll Pitcher and
her prophecies," he exclaimed with a laugh.

" Ah — but she tells such wonderful things," began
Dorothy, impetuously. But Mary Broughton laid a
small white hand over the red lips and glanced warn-
ingly at her companion.

" What did she tell ? " the young man asked. But
now Dorothy only smiled, and shook her head.

" Come, Dorothy," Mary said, " we had best get
back to the boat." And she turned to go ; but the
younger girl hung back.

"Are you going to a meeting at the inn, Jack?"
she inquired, looking at her brother.

" Little girls must not ask questions," he answered,
yet smiling at her lovingly. "But do you hasten

36 From Kingdom to Colony

to the boat, and get home, Dot, you and Mary. It
troubles me that you should be about here. Hurry
home, now, — there 's a good little girl." But he
looked at both of them as he spoke.

"Shall you be home by evening? " his sister asked,
keeping her face toward him as she backed away,
obliged to move in the direction of the beach; for
Mary, still holding her arm, was walking along.

He nodded and smiled ; then riding back to the
highway, wheeled his horse and stopped to watch
the two figures making their hurried way across the
marsh. But his eyes rested longest upon one of
them, tall and regal, her blonde head showing
golden in the waning light, the vivid green of the
marshes and the deep purple of the sea making a
defining background for the beauty of the woman to
whom John Devereux had given his lifelong love.

From Kingdom to Colony 37

CHAPTER III

H, Mary, there is Johnnie Strings ! " exclaimed
Dorothy, as they drew near shore, where lay
the rowboat, beached on the sand, with Leet, the
faithful old darkey, sitting close by, awaiting the
pleasure of his adored young mistress.

Near him a little girl of seven was gathering
pebbles, her heavy blonde braids touching the tawny
sand whenever she stooped in her search. And
crouched by his grandfather Leet was the boy
Pashar, looking like an animated inkspot upon the
brightness all about. His white eyeballs and teeth
showed sharply by contrast with their onyx-like set
tings, as he sat with his thick lips agape, literally
drinking in the words of the redoubtable Johnnie
Strings, a wiry, sharp-faced little man, whose gar
ments resembled the dry, faded tints of the autumn
woods.

Johnnie, with his pedler's pack, stored with a
seemingly unlimited variety of wares, was a well-
known and welcome visitor to every housewife in
town. He lived when at home (which was rarely)
in a hut-like abode up among the rocks of Skinner's
Head ; and the highway between Boston and Glouces
ter was tramped by him many times during the year.

He owned a raw-boned nag of milk-white hue, and
rejoicing in the name of Lavinia Amelia ; and these

38 From Kingdom to Colony

two, with a yellow cur, constituted the entire manage
of the Strings household.

Johnnie, like Topsy, must have "just growed,"
for aught anyone ever knew of a parent Strings. The
one item of information possessed by his acquaint
ances was that his name was not Johnnie Strings at
all, but "Stand-fast-on-high Stringer," — an indication
that he must have received his baptism at Puritanical
hands.

Either "Stand-fast-on-high" became more unre-
generate as his infancy was left behind, or else his
associates had no great taste for Biblical terms as
applied to every-day use ; for his real name had long
since -become vulgarized to the common earthiness
of " Johnnie," and " Stringer " had been reduced to
" Strings."

He now sat upon his pack — a smaller one than he
usually carried — and was saying to Leet, " Now that
there be so cantankerous a lot o' them pesky King's
soldiers 'bout us, there's no sayin' what day or night
they won't overrun the hull country, from the Gov
ernor's house at Salem, clean over here to the sea;
an' every man will be wise, that owns cattle, to sleep
with one eye an' ear open, an' a gun within reach."

"What are you saying, Johnnie Strings?" called
out Dorothy, as she and Mary came up. " Are you
trying to frighten old Leet into fits? "

The little pedler sprang to his feet and snatched
off his battered wreck of a hat, showing a scant lot
of carroty hair, gathered tightly into a rusty black
ribbon at the nape of his weather-beaten neck.

" Only sayin' God's truth, sweet mistress," he

From Kingdom to Colony 39

answered, bowing and scraping with elaborate polite
ness. " I Ve just come from over Salem way ; an'
yesterday evenin' ye could scarcely see the ground
for the red spots that covered it. There were three
ship-loads came in yesterday, to add to the ungodly
lot o' soldiers already there."

Mary looked troubled, but Dorothy only laughed.
And little 'Bitha, abandoning her search for shells
and pebbles, pressed closely against her cousin,
looking up out of a pair of frightened eyes, blue as
forget-me-nots, as she asked, " Does Johnnie say the
soldiers are coming after us, Dot?"

Dorothy checked herself in what she was about to
say, and bent to reassure the little one, putting an
arm about her neck to draw the golden head still
closer to her.

"What are they come down from Boston for,
Johnnie?" Mary asked; "do you know?"

He cocked his head aslant, and resumed his hat,
screwing up one eye in a fashion most impudent in
any man but himself, as he looked at her with a cun
ning leer. Then he said : " There 's no harm to come
from 'em yet. But soldiers be a lawless lot, if they
get turned loose to look after we folk 'bout the coast
here, as is like to be the case now. An' so I was
just meanin' to hint to ye that 'twould be as well to
stop nigher home, after this day."

Old Leet, who had listened with a stolid face to all
this, was now pushing the boat into the water, while
Pashar stood gaping at the pedler, until ordered
gruffly by his grandsire to stand ready to hold the
craft.

40 From Kingdom to Colony

" Have you knowledge that they are coming down
here?" inquired Mary, speaking more insistently than
before.

" We-1-1, yes, I have," he admitted with a drawl,
and was about to add something more, when Dorothy,
who had deposited 'Bitha in the boat, and was now
getting in to take her own place in the stern, said to
him, " Come with us, Johnnie, and we '11 take you
home, as we pass quite close to your " — hesitating a
second — " your house."

" No, thank ye, mistress," he replied, grinning
proudly at the dignity she had bestowed upon his
humble abode. " I 've that will take me up to Dame
Chine, at the Fountain Inn, an' I should be there
this very minute, an' not chatterin' here. But I was
tired, an' when I came along an' saw old Leet, sat
down to rest a bit."

" When are you intending to fetch that pink ribbon
you promised me weeks ago, and the lace for Aunt
Lettice?" demanded Dorothy, as Mary Broughton
stepped over the intervening seats, past Leet, at the
oars, with small 'Bitha alongside him, and took her
place beside her friend.

" I 've both in my pack, up at the hut ; I '11 bring
'em to the house this week, ye may depend on it,"
answered Johnnie, as Pashar pushed off the boat,
springing nimbly in as the keel left the sand.

"If you do not, I'll never buy another thing from
you so long as I live," the girl called back, with a
wilful toss of her head, as Leet pulled away with
strong, rapid strokes.

" T is all wrong for two pretty ones like them to

From Kingdom to Colony 41

be roamin' 'round in such fashion," said Johnnie to
himself, as he stooped to take up his pack. Then
suddenly, as if remembering something, he turned to
the shore and called out, " Shall ye find Master John
at home, think ye, Mistress Dorothy?"

Her voice came back silvery clear over the dis
tance of water lying between them. " No ; he is up
at the Fountain Inn."

" Ah, as I thought," the pedler muttered, with a
meaning smile. " I '11 just be in the nick o' time."

"What think you it all means, Mary?" Dorothy
asked, the two sitting close together in the boat.

"What all means?" echoed Mary, in an absent-
minded way, her head turned toward the shore they
were leaving, where on the higher land the far-away
windows of the Fountain Inn were showing like glim
mering stars in the light of the setting sun.

" Why," Dorothy explained, smiling at Mary's ab
straction, "all these soldiers coming down here?
And Johnnie acts and talks as if he could tell some
thing important, if he chose."

"You know, Dot, we are like to have serious
trouble, — perhaps a war with the mother country."

" And all because of a parcel of old tea ! " ex
claimed Dorothy, with great scorn.

Mary now turned her face in the direction the boat
was going, and smiled faintly. "The tea is really
what has brought matters to a head," she said. " But
there is more in it than that alone, from what I 've
heard my father say. And there is much about it
that we girls cannot rightly understand, or talk about
very wisely. Only, I hope there will be no war.

42 From Kingdom to Colony

War is such a terrible thing," she added with a shud
der, "and you know what Moll told us. I almost
wish we had not gone to see her to-day."

" I am not a bit sorry we went," said Dorothy,
stoutly. " I am glad. What did she say, — some
thing about a big black cloud full of lightnings and
muttering thunder, coming from across the sea, to
spread over the land and darken it? Was n't that it? "

"Yes, and much more. Do you think she was
asleep as she talked to us, Dot? She looked so
strangely, and yet her eyes were wide open all the
time."

" Tyntie does the same thing at times. She says
it 's ' trance.' But Aunt Penine always puts me out
of the kitchen when Tyntie gets that way, and so I
don't know whether she talks or not. I mean to try
and find out, if I can, the next time Tyntie gets into
such a state."

"Nothing seems strange for Indians to do or to
be," Mary said musingly; "but I never heard of
such things amongst white people."

" Oh, yes, you did," Dorothy answered quickly.
"Whatever are you thinking of, not to remember
about the witches? 'Tis said they could foretell to a
certainty of future happenings. I wish I 'd lived in
those days, although it could not have been pleasant
to see folks hanged for such knowledge. As for
Moll Pitcher, — I guess she might have been treated
as was old Mammie Redd."

From Kingdom to Colony 43

CHAPTER IV

'""INHERE was a long silence, broken at last by

-1 Mary saying, " Perhaps what some folk say of
Moll is true, — that it is an evil gift she has. And
yet she has a sweet face and gentle manner."

" I wonder if 't is truth, what they say of old
Dimond, her father," said Dorothy, her chin sup
ported in one soft palm, while her eyes looked off
over the water, motionless almost as the seaweed
growing on the scarred rocks along the shore, left
bare by the low tide.

" What is that? " Mary asked.

" Why, that whenever there was a dark, stormy
night, with a gale threatening the ships at sea, he
would go up on Burial Hill, and beat about amongst
the grass, to save the crews from shipwreck."

Mary laughed. " What an idea! " she exclaimed.
" How could beating the ground about the dead
benefit or protect the living, who are surely in the
keeping of Him who makes the tempests?"

" I don't know," was Dorothy's simple answer.
" Only that is what I Ve heard, ever since I was a
child. And such talk always took my fancy."

" Well, old Dimond does n't look now as if he
could have strengtlvto beat the ground, or anything
else. Poor old man, he is very feeble, and I should
say 't is a happy thing for him that Moll can come
down from Lynn now and then, to attend him."

44 From Kingdom to Colony

"Yes," Dorothy assented. Then, with a lively
change of tone and manner, "'Twas odd, Mary, for
her to say that when you left her door you were to
see your true-love riding to meet you on horseback."

Mary started, and without answering, turned her
head away, while the blood rushed to her lovely
face.

"Which was he, sweetheart?" Dorothy persisted
teasingly, bending her head so as to bring her smiling
face directly under the down-dropped blue eyes, and
then laughing outright at the confusion she saw
there.

"Which one was it? "she repeated. "You know
Hugh Knollys rode down the road directly toward
you, and then —

But Mary's white hand was over the laughing lips
and silenced them.

" If your father should hear you talking in such
fashion, Dot, I feel sure he would be displeased with
me for having gone with you to see Moll." Mary
made an effort to look and speak naturally, but her
eyes were very bright and her face was still deeply
flushed.

Dorothy smiled, and shook her curly head wilfully.
" Not he," she said with decision ; " leastway, not
for long. He is stern enough, at times, to others;
but he can never be severe with me."

"Ah, Dot, but you are surely a spoiled child,"
said Mary, with a fond glance at the winsome face.

Dorothy shrugged her small shoulders. " So Aunt
Penine is always saying; but all the aunts in the
world could never come 'twixt my father and me."

From Kingdom to Colony 45

Little 'Bitha, who had been crooning softly to her
self, and improvising, after a fashion of her own, —

"The sea is blue, blue, blue,
The sea is blue, and I love the sea,"

suddenly cried out, " Oh, Dot, look, look ! What an
ugly fish ! "

They all looked, and saw a dead dogfish, its cruel
teeth showing in the gaping jaws, go bobbing by,
entangled in a mesh of floating seaweed.

" Him look like dead nigger," said Pashar, as he
flung a pebble at it.

Old Leet scowled over his shoulder at his lively
descendant.

" Dere '11 be anudder, an' real true, dead nigger ter
keep him company, ef ye don't sit still, an' quit
grampussin* 'bout de boat," he growled ; and Pashar
became very quiet.

They were now drawing in nearer to the shore,
where the strip of sand-beach lay down below the
rocky headland, upon the highest point of which
stood Spray House, the home of Nicholson Brough-
ton and his daughter Mary.

The house — a low, rambling building, with gabled
roof — was perched upon the highest of a series of
greenstone and syenite ledges, whose natural jagged-
ness had no need to be strengthened by art to render
them a safe bulwark against the encroaching seas,
when the storms flashed blinding mists and glitter
ing spray about the diamond-paned windows.

These looked off over the open water, and past the
point of land intervening between Great Bay and

46 From Kingdom to Colony

Marblehead Rock. Upon the latter was an odd
beacon, — being a discarded pulpit from one of the
Boston churches, whence, after hearing much of the
noise and commotion of men, it had been transferred
to this barren rock, there to listen to the ceaseless
tumult of the battling sea.

Inland from Spray House stood the many great
warehouses; and back of these stretched the pas
ture-lands, breaking here and there into rough hills,
showing fields of golden splendor, where the wood
wax, or " dyer's weed," was growing in luxuriant
wildness.

Several small boats were drawn up on the beach ;
and anchored a little way out, and directly opposite
the front windows of Spray House, were two goodly-
sized schooners, and a brig, their topmasts now
touched by the fiery gold of sunset.

" I wish you were coming home with me, Mary,"
said Dorothy, as Leet ran the boat's nose into the
shingle, and Pashar leaped out to hold the stern.

" I wish so, too. But you know it will not be
many days before father goes up to Boston, and he
said I should abide with you until he returned."

" That will be fine," said Dorothy, her face aglow
with pleasure, as Mary, after dropping a light kiss
upon her cheek, arose to leave the boat. " Only, if
I were you, I should coax him to let me go to
Boston."

" I did ask him ; but he goes on public matters, he
said, and was like to have a quick and a rough trip."
Mary was now standing upon the beach.

" Well, be he gone a long or a short time, we

From Kingdom to Colony 47

shall all be very happy to have you with us. That
you know, surely." And Dorothy kissed her hand to
her friend, as Leet pulled out again into the water
and rowed toward the upper end of the bay, while
Mary took her way across the beach to the thread
like path leading up to the plateau that formed the
back dooryard of Spray House.

In the yard was Joe, the darkey serving-man, busy
cutting more wood to increase the already generous
pile stored in the building near by, while Agnes, his
niece, was in the kitchen, preparing the evening
meal.

In the long, low, oak-panelled "living-room " of the
house, its windows facing the water, Mary found her
father. He was standing — a tall, finely built man,
nearly fifty — gazing through an open window. His
sturdy legs were well apart, as with hands in his
trousers' pockets he was jingling his keys and loose
coin in a restless sort of way, while he hummed to
himself.

Mary entered so softly, or else his thoughts were
so absorbing, that he did not notice her until she
stood close beside him and slipped a hand within
his arm. Then he started, and the scowl left his
brow as he turned the frank, blue-gray eyes, so
like her own, down upon her upturned, smiling
face.

" Ha, Pigsney ! " he exclaimed, now smiling him
self. "And have you had a pleasant water-trip?"
He looked at her lovingly, while he caressed the
blonde head that just reached to his broad shoulder.

" Yes," she replied hurriedly. " And I met Johnnie

48 From Kingdom to Colony

Strings, who has but just come from over Salem way.
He says there are quantities of soldiers there, and
that they are like to come this way and spread all
over the town."

" You speak of them, sweetheart, as if they might
be another epidemic of smallpox," he said grimly.
" And so they are, so they are, if not indeed some
thing worse." And the scowl came back to his
face as he looked off over the water at his brig and
schooners.

"But what does it all mean, father?" Mary asked
anxiously. " Think you they will meet with opposi
tion should they actually come down here? Oh, it
would be dreadful to have any fighting right here in
our streets and before our very doors." The girl
trembled, and her cheeks paled.

"Nay, nay, lass," and he patted her shoulder
reassuringly; "cross no bridges until you come to
them." Then he added rather impatiently, " What
does Johnnie Strings mean by telling such tales to
affright women-folk?"

"We — Dorothy Devereux and I — met him, and
we- made him talk. But he did not seem to want to
tell us all he knew about it."

" And quite right," said her father, smiling again.
" Lord pity the man who is fool enough to tell
women — and girls, at that — all he knows of such
matters, in days like these."

Mary looked up at him a little reproachfully, but
he only bent and kissed her, as he said, now quite
gravely : " I Ve much on my mind this night, my
child, and I have to ask if you can be ready soon

From Kingdom to Colony 49

after supper to drive with me to the house of neigh
bor Devereux, and to stop there a few days with
Dorothy. I have certain matters to talk over with
him, and will pass the night there ; and before day-
light I must be on my way to Boston."

50 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER V

ON Riverhead Beach, at the extreme southwest
end, the Devereux family kept sundry boats,
for greater convenience in reaching the town proper,
without going around the Neck, by the open seaway ;
and some distance from the boat-house was their
home, the way being along the shore and across the
thriftily planted acres and through the woodland.

The same low stone house it was that had with
stood the pirates' raid over one hundred years before.
But the forests were now gone, although a noble
wood still partially environed it. And beyond this
were sloping hills and grassy meadows, through
which ran a stream of pure, sweet water, wandering
on through the dusk of the woods until it found the
sea.

Here fed the flocks and herds of Joseph Devereux,
the grandson of John and Anne.

There had been some additions to the original
building, but these were low and rambling, like the
older portion. And before it, broader of expanse
and to the vision than in the early days, stretched
the sea, a far-reaching floor of glass or foam, to melt
away in the pearly dimness of the horizon.

The hush of lingering twilight was over the place,
and now and then the note of a thrush or robin
thrilled sweet on the golden-tissued air. But from the
vine-draped door of the low stone dairy came sounds

From Kingdom to Colony 51

less inviting, uttered by Aunt Penine, the widowed
sister-in-law and housekeeper of Joseph Devereux,
as she goaded her maids at their evening work.

In sharp contrast with her, both as to person and
manner, was her invalid sister Lettice, who was sit
ting on the porch before the open door, with little
'Bitha, her orphaned grandchild, hanging lovingly
about her.

Opposite these sat Joseph Devereux, smoking his
evening pipe ; and crouched on the stone step, her
curly head resting against his knee, was Dorothy,
now gentle and subdued.

There was an irresistible charm about the girl's
wilfulness that blended perfectly with the sacred in
nocence of her childish nature. She was impetuous,
laughter-loving, and somewhat spoiled ; but she was
possessed of a high spirit, strong courage, and a pure,
tender heart.

Her father's idol and chief companion she had al
ways been since, in his sixtieth-odd year, she was
laid in his strong arms, — vigorous as those of a man
half his own age. And he was looking into her baby
face, so like his own, when he heard that she was all
he had left of his faithful wife.

He had lost many children; and such sorrow,
softening still more a never hard heart, had made
him dotingly fond of those left to him, — his twenty-
seven-year-old son John and the wilful Dot.

The girl's education had been beyond that of most
maids in those times, as had also that of her only
friend, Mary Broughton; and for much the same rea
son. Both girls had been carefully trained by their

52 From Kingdom to Colony

fathers ; and Aunt Penine, at Nicholson Broughton's
request, had taught Mary housewifery in all its
branches, at the same time she was undertaking the
like portion of her niece's education.

But this was an art in which Mary far exceeded
Dot; and Aunt Penine lectured her niece unceas
ingly, while seeming to find nothing but praise for
Mary's efforts.

It was pretty sure to be something of this sort :
" Dorothy, Dorothy ! Ye '11 ne'er be a good butter-
maker; ye beat it so, the grain will be broke. Why
cannot ye take it this way? " and Aunt Penine would
show her. " See how fine Mary does it ! Ye have too
hot a hand."

Dot would give her head a toss, and remind her
aunt that it was not she herself who had the fashion
ing of her small hand, nor the regulating of its tem
perature. And then Aunt Penine would be very sure
to go to her brother-in-law with complainings of his
daughter's disrespectful tongue, and it would end
in Dot being persuaded by her father to beg Aunt
Penine's pardon, which she would do in a meek tone,
but with a suspicious sparkle in her eyes. And after
that she was very likely to be found at the stables,
saddling her own mare, Brown Bess, for a wild gallop
off over the country.

Aunt Penine was one who never seemed to re
member that she had ever been young herself; and
this made her all the more unbending in her dis
approval of Dorothy's flow of spirits, and of the
indulgence shown her by her father.

She was now coming across the grass from the

From Kingdom to Colony 53

dairy, — a tall, lithe figure, from which all the round
ness of youth (had she ever possessed anything so
weak) had given way to the spareness of middle age.
Her hair, still plentiful, was of a dull, lustreless
black; her complexion sallow, with paler cheeks,
somewhat fallen in ; and she had a pair of small gray
eyes that seemed like twinkling lights set either side
a very long, sharp nose.

Her gown was now pinned up around her like that
of a fishwife; a white cap surmounted her severe
head, and her brown arms were bare above the elbows,
where she had rolled her sleeves. She well knew that
her brother-in-law in no wise approved of her going
about in such a fashion ; but this was only an added
reason for her doing so.

There was a silken rustling of doves' wings, as the
flock scattered from in front of her on the grass,
where, obedient to Dorothy's call, they had come like
a cloud from the dove-cote perched high on a pole
near by.

" Joseph," she cried, sending her shrill voice ahead
of her as she walked along, " do you know that the
last two new Devonshires have either strayed or
been stolen?"

"So Trent told me." He spoke very calmly,
letting several seconds intervene between question
and answer, puffing his pipe meanwhile, while the
fingers of one hand rested amongst the curly, fragrant
locks lying against his knee.

" Told you ! Then why, under the canopy, did n't
ye tell me ? " she demanded, as she now stood on the
stone flagging in front of the veranda, her arms

54 From Kingdom to Colony

akimbo, while she peered at him with her little
twinkling eyes.

He looked at her gravely, and as if thinking, but
made no reply.

Her eyes fell, and she seemed embarrassed, for
she said in a lower tone, and by way of explana
tion : " Because, you see, Joseph, I cannot look after
the pans o' milk properly, if I know not how many
cows there be to draw from. There was less milk
by twenty pans, this e'en ; and I was suspecting the
new maid we Ve taken from over Oakum Bay way
of making off with it for her own folk, when Pashar
came in and said he was to go with Trent, to hunt
for the missing Devonshires. And that was the first
I 'd heard of any strayed cattle."

" And even had they not been missing, Penine, you
had no right to think such evil o' the stranger,"
Joseph Devereux said reprovingly. " 'T is a queer
fashion, it seems to me, for a Christian woman to be
so ready as you ever seem to be for thinking harsh
things o' folk you may happen not to know well.
Strangers are no more like to do evil than friends,
say I."

He now handed his pipe to Dot, who rapped the
ashes out on the ground and returned it to him. He
thanked the girl with the same courtesy he would
have shown an utter stranger, while Aunt Penine,
looking very much subdued, turned about and went
back to the dairy.

Joseph Devereux was still a handsome man, with
a dark, intellectual face, framed in a halo of silvery
hair, worn long, as was the fashion, and con-

From Kingdom to Colony 55

fined by a black ribbon. About his throat was
wrapped snowy linen lawn, fine as a cobweb, and
woven on his own hand-looms by the women of his
house, as was also that of the much ruffled shirt
showing from the front of a buff waistcoat, gold-
buttoned.

The same color was repeated in his top-boots, that
came up to meet the breeches of dark cloth, fastened
at the knee with steel buckles.

His tall figure was but slightly bowed ; and there
was a mixture of haughtiness and softness in his
manner, very far removed from provincial brusque-
ness, and belonging rather to the days and surround
ing of his ancestors than to the time in which he
lived.

John, his son, was a more youthful picture of the
father, but with a freer display of temper, — this due,
perhaps, to his fewer years. But father and son were
known alike for kindly and generous deeds, and as
possessing a high ideal of truth and justice.

56 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER VI

""T\O you suppose, Joseph, that Jack will have

••-- / had his supper?"

Aunt Lettice asked the question a little anxiously,
as she drew about her shoulders the soft shawl that
little 'Bitha's impetuous clasping had somewhat
disarranged.

" Aye ; I think the lad is sure to have taken it at
the inn." His voice was very gentle, as it always
was when he addressed her.

" There he is ! " shouted 'Bitha. And she darted
down the steps to wave frantic arms at two horsemen
coming up the wooded way to the house, while Dot
lifted her head from her father's knee, as he now sat
more erect in his chair.

" Have a care, 'Bitha, or we may run you down,"
called out John Devereux, laughingly. And at this the
little maiden made haste to speed back to the porch.

It was Hugh Knollys who accompanied him, — a
stalwart, broad-chested young fellow of twenty-five
or six, with blunt features and a not over-handsome
face. But for all this he had an irresistible magnetism
for those who knew him ; and no one could ever asso
ciate evil or untruth with his frank, keen-glancing
gray eyes and clean-cut, smiling lips.

" Good-evening, Hugh, and welcome," said Joseph
Devereux, rising to extend a friendly hand as the
young man came up the steps.

From Kingdom to Colony 57

Hugh removed his hat and nodded to Dorothy,
glancing at her askance as she arose and with a
demure greeting passed him and went to her brother,
who was now giving some orders to old Leet.

"Jack," she whispered imploringly, under cover of
the talk going on in the porch, — "Jack, tell me,
please, that you will not speak to father of Mary and
me seeing Moll Pitcher this afternoon."

He looked at her smilingly, and then took her chin
in his fingers and gave her head a gentle shake, in a
way he had of doing.

" If I do as you ask, will you promise not to go
over to that part of the town again without telling me
first, and then not to go unless I say you may?"

" Yes, yes," she answered eagerly.

" Well, then, 't is a bargain." With this he put
an arm around her, and they turned toward the house.

" Did Mary go home?" he asked, as they walked
slowly along.

"Yes; but she is coming soon to stop with us, as
her father is to go to Boston on business of some
sort"

" He is like to go this very night," the young man
said.

" This very night ! " Dorothy echoed. " Why, then,
Mary might have come home with me, as I wished.
But how do you know that, Jack?"

" Never mind now," was his evasive answer. " You
will hear all about it later."

They were now at the porch, and his father, who
had been conversing earnestly with young Knollys,
said : " Hugh tells me that ye both had supper at the

58 From Kingdom to Colony

inn. So come within, Jack, — come, both o* ye, and
let us talk over certain matters of importance. Hugh
will stop with us for the night ; and, Dot, do you go
and tell your Aunt Penine, so that his room may be
prepared." And leading the way, the old gentleman
went inside, followed by his son and their guest.

" Grandame," asked 'Bitha, as Dorothy arose and
went in quest of Aunt Penine, "what did Hugh
Knollys mean by his talk to Uncle Joseph just now,
of the King's soldiers at Salem?" The child spoke
in an awed voice, drawing closer to the old lady, and
looking up at her with startled eyes.

Aunt Lettice tried to give her delicate features a
properly severe cast as she answered, " Hush, 'Bitha !
you should not listen to matters not meant for your
hearing."

" But I Ve heard it before, grandame," 'Bitha per
sisted. "Johnnie Strings said the same thing, this
afternoon, to Dot and Mary Broughton. He said the
soldiers were coming all over here, clear to the shore,
and that we best have guns ready to shoot them."

Aunt Lettice's expression had now become really
severe, for she still had the old-time reverence for
King and Parliament dwelling in her heart.

" Johnnie Strings is seditious and rebellious, to
speak so of His Gracious Majesty's army," she said
with marked disapproval ; " and he shall sell no more
of his wares to me, if he goes about the country talk
ing in such fashion. But you must have mistaken
his meaning, child."

But 'Bitha shook her small head wilfully, in a way to
remind one of her cousin Dorothy, and took herself

From Kingdom to Colony 59

off to the charms of the kitchen regions, where old
Tyntie was ever ready to listen to her prattle, and tell
her charming tales when work was out of the way.

And this is how 'Bitha came to know that the bright
green spots showing here and there in the meadows
were the rings made by the dancing feet of the Star-
sisters, when they came down in a great ball of light
from their home in the sky, striking the ball about as
they danced, and causing it to give forth most rav
ishing music.

And Tyntie told her, also, that the flitting will-o'-the-
wisp lights that showed on dark nights over the
farthest away marsh-lands were the wandering souls
of Indian warriors, watching to keep little children
from getting lost or frightened ; that the cry of the
whippoorwill was the lament of Munomene-Keesis,
the Spirit of the Moon, over dead-and-gone warriors
vanquished by the white men; that the wild winds
coming from the sea were Pawatchecanawas, breathing
threatenings for bad men and their ships; and that
the frogs hopping about in the cool dusk were all
little liche, with a magic jewel in their ugly heads.

All this was imparted as they sat out on the great
stumps of hewn-down trees, while the twilight gath
ered and the stars came out in the vault overhead,
and the two were at a safe distance from Aunt
Penine's practical bustling and sharp tongue.

For Aunt Penine ruled the household with a veri
table " rod of iron ; " and her courtly and calm-
voiced brother-in-law was the only mortal to whom
she had ever been known to show deference of manner
or speech.

60 From Kingdom to Colony

She had gone within, and the maids with her.
The dairy was closed for the night, and Dorothy had
returned to the porch, where she was now seated in
her father's favorite chair.

" Aunt Lettice," she said presently, " what think
you all these queer things mean? Mary Broughton
said we might have a war ; and there seems a great
lot for the men folk to be having meetings over, and
secret talk about."

" I know no more than you, Dorothy, but I wish
it was all over, and that I might have my tea once
more ; I miss it sadly."

"Why," exclaimed Dorothy, looking greatly sur
prised, " there is tea in the house, Aunt Lettice ! I
thought it was not made for you because you did not
care for it."

" Indeed I do care for it very much," said the little
old lady ; and she sighed wistfully. " But Penine
said there was to be no more tea, as your father had
forbidden it."

" Well, some one is drinking it," Dorothy asserted
with positiveness, " for I found a small potful of tea
in the store-closet this very morning."

"Are you sure, my dear?" Aunt Lettice asked
wonderingly.

"Of course I am sure, for I smelled it; and as I
detest the odor, I looked to see what it came from.
And I know as well that there is a big canful of tea
there, for I caught the lace of my sleeve on the lid
last Sabbath day, as I reached to get the sugar to
put on 'Bitha's bread. Aunt Penine must know it is
there."

From Kingdom to Colony 61

" Penine is very fond of her tea." Aunt Lettice
sighed again, and this time rather suggestively.

"Well," said Dorothy, her fiery spirit all aglow,
" if she be such a pig as to make it for herself when
she lets you have none, I shall find out, and tell my
father of her doings."

" My dear, my dear, you should not speak so,"
the gentle old lady protested, but with only feeble
remonstrance. It was evident that Dorothy's words
had put the matter in a new light.

" Now, Aunt Lettice," continued Dorothy, as she
straightened her small figure in the chair, " you know
that Aunt Penine often treats you with hard-hearted
selfishness, and then next minute she will be reading
her good books and trying to look pious. I never
want to be her sort of good, — never ! And while I
live, she shall not treat you so any more. I shall
tell father to ask her about the tea, I warrant you."

Before Aunt Lettice could reply to this impetuous
speech, a coach drove up, its lamps showing like
glow-worms in the gathering dusk. In it were Nich
olson Broughton and Mary; and Dorothy rushed
down the steps to welcome her friend as though they
had been parted for weeks.

While the new-comers were alighting, Leet came
up to show the coachman the way to the stables;
and then the two girls went directly to the porch,
while Broughton himself tarried to give some low-
spoken orders to his servant.

The sound of the carriage wheels had brought
John Devereux quickly to the porch, while his father
and Hugh Knollys followed after, the younger man

62 From Kingdom to Colony

walking slowly, in deference to the slight lameness
of his host.

" Ah, neighbor Broughton, you are just the man
we were wishing for. Heartily welcome ! " And
Joseph Devereux clasped the other man's hand,
while John turned away with his sister and Mary
Broughton.

They were joined a moment later by Hugh Knollys ;
and John Devereux, as though suspecting a possible
rival, watched keenly his blunt, honest face as he
took the small hand Mary extended. But there was
naught in Hugh's look to alarm him, nor in the quiet
greeting Mary gave his friend.

Dorothy now drew his attention. " Jack," she
asked earnestly, " did you warn Hugh not to speak
aught of this afternoon?" But Hugh answered her
question by a slight laugh, accompanied by a com
prehending nod.

"Oh, Dot," said Mary, with gentle reproach, "you
should not deceive your father in this way."

Dorothy raised her head as though she had been
struck, and drew herself up to the full limit of her
small stature.

" Indeed, Mary, I intend to do no such thing," she
replied almost aggressively. " 'T is only that I wish
to tell him all about it myself, and in my own
fashion."

Here her father's voice broke in. " Come, John, —
come, Hugh, — come inside, with neighbor Brough
ton and me. We will get our matters settled as
soon as may be, while the girls visit with Aunt
Lettice. But ye must all come within ; 't is getting

From Kingdom to Colony 63

much too damp and cold to stop longer out o' the
house."

He drove them in before him and closed the door,
shutting out the roar of the surf along the shore, as
it mingled with the shrilling of the dry-voiced insects
in the grasses and woods.

64 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER VII

IT was the dining-room of the house wherein the
four men sat in earnest consultation; and now
that they were alone, their faces were grave to
solemnity.

The oak-ceiled and wainscoted room was filled
with lurking shadows in the far corners, where the
light from the candles did not penetrate; and the
inside shutters of stout oak were closed and bolted
over the one great window, along which ran a deep
cushioned seat

Joseph Devereux sat by the mahogany table,
whose black polish reflected the lights, mirror-like,
and — but more dully — the yellow brass of the
candlesticks. His elbow was resting upon the smooth
wood, his hand supporting his head ; and in the light
of the candle burning near, his face looked unusually
stern.

His son sat opposite, his face mostly in shadow, as
he lay back in his chair and thrummed the table with
his slender brown fingers.

At either side sat Nicholson Broughton and Hugh
Knollys, the former looking stern and troubled as he
smoked his long pipe, while the younger man's face
held but little of its usual light-hearted expression.
His hands were thrust deep in his breeches' pockets,

From Kingdom to Colony 65

and he whistled softly now and then in an absent-
minded way.

"Aye, 'tis a grave state of affairs, Broughton,"
Joseph Devereux was saying. " I love not oppres-'
sion, nor tyrannical dealing. And yet, think you that
ever was a petty tyrant overthrown, and the instru
ments of his punishment could always escape a
pricking o' the conscience, that made it not easy for
them to look back upon their own share in his down
fall? Shall the time come, I wonder, when we must
question the truth o' this inspiration we are now
acting under as a town and as a country?"

"Nay, say I, — never ! " exclaimed Broughton, with
fiery ardor. " Being human, we must all feel sympathy
for suffering, be it in enemy or friend. But our land
is lost, and we nothing better than slaves, did we
longer submit to the tyranny of the mother country.
As God bade Moses of old lead the children of Israel
from the bondage and cruel injustice of Pharaoh, so
we should feel that He now bids us, as men with a
country, and as fathers with families to cherish and
protect, to rise up and assert our manhood, and to
assure our freedom, even though it be by as fierce a
war as ever was waged."

" And war there 's bound to be ! " It was Hugh
Knollys who said this, and he seemed to look more
cheery at the thought.

Joseph Devereux glanced at him sharply, and then
turned to his son.

" You say, Jack," he asked, " that Strings said the
Governor was to order a body o' soldiers down to the
Neck?"

5

66 From Kingdom to Colony

" Yes, sir — and that right away."

At this, Nicholson Broughton spoke up, looking at
his host.

"As I was saying to you awhile back, neighbor
Devereux, the committee ordered to Boston, to
decide upon delegates, must get a start from town
before the redcoats get into quarters upon the Neck,
or there may be trouble which it were as well to avoid.
This was decided upon when we met at the Fountain
Inn, this afternoon ; and 't was agreed that all who go
from here should take the road to Boston before
to-morrow's dawn. John and Hugh, here, reckon on
going along with us, to meet Brattle in Boston, for he
has sent word that he is to sail the day after to-mor
row with a shipload of supplies ordered down by the
Governor for the soldiery at Salem. This will be a
fane opportunity for smuggling down the firearms
and powder which have been hid so long in Boston,
waiting the chance for safe conveyance here."

Before Joseph Devereux could speak, his son broke
in eagerly : " Hugh and I will come down with Brattle,
and we '11 lie off at anchor, as near our own shore as
may be. Some one must be ready to give us the
signal from the land ; and if all is safe, we can put
the guns and powder ashore and hide them. This
will be the safest plan, for about Great Bay the
soldiers will be on the lookout for anything un
wonted ; and in Little Harbor it will be as bad, for
they will have their eyes wide open to keep a sharp
watch upon the Fountain Inn, and all about it — be
it on land or water."

" You say truly, Jack," his father assented. " But

From Kingdom to Colony 67

whom can we trust to give the signal? Ah," with
a sigh, " if only I had back a few of my own lost years,
or was not so lame ! "

" Brains can serve one's land, friend Devereux, as
well, oftentimes better, than arms," said Broughton,
looking at his host's massive head and intelligent
features. " We all have our appointed work to do,
and no man is more capable than you of doing his
share."

"I pray it maybe so," was the reply. "But, be
it much or little, all I have and am are at the service
of our cause."

"Why not let Dorothy be the one to give the
signal?" asked Hugh Knollys, as from a sudden
inspiration.

"Just the one," said John Devereux, looking over
at his father. " She fears nothing, and can be relied
upon in such a matter."

The old gentleman seemed a bit reluctant, and sat
silent for a few moments. Then speaking to his son,
he said : " Call the child in. This is no time to hold
back one's hand from the doing of aught that be
needful to help the cause of our land."

It was not many minutes before Dorothy came into
the room behind her brother; and her eyes opened
wider than ever as their quick glance took in the
solemn conclave about the table.

Her father stretched out an inviting hand. " Come
here, Dot," he said smilingly. " Do not look so
frightened, my baby." And he patted her small hand
in a loving way as he drew her close beside him.

" No," added Hugh mischievously, his face having

68 From Kingdom to Colony

now regained its usual jollity, " we are not going to
eat you, Dorothy."

She deigned him no reply, not even a glance, but
stood silently beside her father, while she looked
questioningly into her brother's face.

He explained in a few words the matter in hand ;
and the flash of her eyes, together with the smile that
touched the upturned corners of her mouth, told how
greatly to her liking was the duty to which she had
been assigned.

Jack had scarce finished speaking, when there was
an interruption, in the person of Aunt Penine, who
entered bearing a tray, upon which were tumblers
and a bowl of steaming punch.

She shot a glance of marked disapproval at Dor
othy ; then, as she placed the tray upon the table in
front of her brother-in-law, she said in atone of acidity,
" Were it not better, think you, Joseph, that the girl
went into the other room and stopped with Lettice
and Mary Broughton? "

Dorothy turned her eyes defiantly upon the elder
woman, her soft brows suggesting the frown that came
to her father's face as he said with grave severity:
" The child is here, Penine, because I sent for her.
Let the punch be as it is — and leave us, please."

She tossed her head belligerently, and without
speaking took her departure, casting a far from
friendly look at the others.

" I strongly suspect, father," said John, as he rose
and crossed the room to close the door his aunt,
either by accident or intent, had left ajar, " that
we 'd best have a care how we let Aunt Penine hear

From Kingdom to Colony 69

aught of our affairs. Her sympathies are very sure
to be with the other side, if the struggle comes to
blows."

" I will see to Penine," his father answered quietly.
" Do you go on instructing Dot as to what she is
to do."

His son bowed, and turned once more to the girl.

" And so, Dot, as I 've said already, you must
reckon surely upon the vessel lying off the beach in
a straight line with the Sachem's Cave, on Friday
night, at about eleven o'clock. And this being Mon
day, will give four days, which will be time enough
to allow for all that 's to be done. But you must
watch, child, even if it prove later in the night, or
even in the morning, before we arrive. And when
you see a light showing, then disappearing, then two
lights, and then three, you must answer from the
shore if all be well, and 't is safe to land, by showing
two lights, and then letting them burn for us to steer
by. Mount as high as you can to the uppermost
level above the cave, so that we may get a good view
of your signal. Can you keep all this in that small
head of yours?" And he smiled at her, as though
some happy outing were being planned.

She nodded quickly, but with a grave face ; then,
after a moment's hesitation, she asked, " May I tell
Mary?"

Her brother's eyes dropped, as Hugh Knollys
flashed a laughing glance upon him. But her father
replied at once : " Aye, it were best to do so. And
if neighbor Broughton has no objections, it were
more prudent that she should be your companion."

jo From Kingdom to Colony

"Not I!" responded Broughton heartily, raising
to his lips the glass of punch his host had been dis
pensing from the bowl in front of him. " But be
over-careful, Dorothy, as to who may be about to
overhear what you say to her. And " — his voice
growing very grave — " may God keep you both,
for two brave, right-hearted girls."

" Amen ! " said Joseph Devereux. And he lifted
his glass to the others, as though pledging them and
the great cause they all had so devoutly at heart

From Kingdom to Colony 71

CHAPTER VIII

WHEN Dorothy left the dining-room, it was by a
door opposite that by which Aunt Penine
had made her angry exit, — one leading to the store
rooms and kitchen.

The one through which Dorothy went opened
directly upon a small platform, whose flight of three
steps descended into the main hall, which was part
of the original building, and was now lighted dimly
by a ship's lantern swinging from the low dark-wood
ceiling, or "planchement."

A pair of handsome antlers were fixed against the
wall about midway down the passage, and underneath
these was a long mahogany table, piled with a miscel
laneous collection of whips, hats, and riding-gloves.

Directly opposite hung the family arms, placed
there more than a hundred years before by the hands
of John Devereux, the " Emigrant," as he was called.
They were: Argent, a Tess and three Tootcauxes,
in Chief Gules. Crest, — issuing out of a Coronet, a
Talbot's Head. And the motto was " Basis Virtutum
Constantia."

Other than this the long, wide hall was bare of
furnishing.

Dorothy came out with her usual impetuous rush,
and closing the door quickly behind her, was startled
by seeing a form rise, as it seemed, from the platform,

72 From Kingdom to Colony

and then, as if retreating hastily, stumble and fall
down the steps.

The girl looked with astonishment, and saw Aunt
Penine prostrate upon the floor of the hall, her up
turned face pale and distorted, as with pain.

It was quite evident that she had been eavesdrop
ping; and Dorothy remained at the head of the steps
regarding her scornfully for a moment, before asking
if she were hurt.

" Yes, I have done somewhat to my ankle, drat
it ! " gasped the sufferer, but in a low voice, as if fear
ful of attracting the attention of those on the other
side of the door.

" Shall I call Jack? " Dorothy inquired, a faint smile
of sarcasm touching her lips ; and she made a move
ment as though to reopen the door.

"No, no, — oh no!" exclaimed Aunt Penine in
great alarm, as she endeavored to regain her feet.

This she at length succeeded in doing, and stood
with one hand against the wall, while she groaned,
but in a suppressed way.

Just then Mary Broughton came from a room
farther down the hall, where she had been delight
ing Aunt Lettice with soft melodies drawn from the
spinet, upon which both she and Dorothy were skilful
performers.

"What is it — is anything amiss?" she asked
quickly, coming up to Aunt Penine, and laying a
hand on her trembling shoulder.

But Aunt Penine only continued to groan dismally,
while her niece, with a laugh she did not try to hide,
now came down the steps.

From Kingdom to Colony 73

** Aunt Penine was evidently anxious to be of my
father's council," she said to Mary; "and I chanced
to open the door too quickly for her, so that she
slipped down the steps and has twisted her ankle."

Her aunt straightened herself and glanced angrily
at the girl, who only laughed again, while Mary
Broughton stood regarding her with a puzzled look.

" Shall I help you to your room, Aunt Penine?"
Dorothy asked with elaborate politeness, holding out
her arm.

" No," snapped her aunt. " I wish no assistance
from you, whose sharp tongue seems ever ready with
insult for your elders. Mary will help me ; and ye
may find Tyntie, and send her to my room." With
this she hobbled away, leaning heavily upon Mary,
who looked back reproachfully at Dorothy.

But Dot only laughed again, as she turned and
went to a door at the end of the hall which com
municated with a side passage leading to the servants'
quarters ; then, having summoned Tyntie, she came
back and seated herself upon a lower step of the
main staircase to await Mary's coming.

Her friend's first words were full of reproof. " Oh,
Dot, how could you seem so heartless?" she said.
" You should see Aunt Penine's foot ; 't is swollen
fearfully, and her ankle is discolored."

" If you but knew how it came about, Mary, per
haps you 'd be less ready to scold me," Dorothy
replied, making room on the step. "There are
weighty matters being talked of in the dining-room
yonder, and I was to tell you what Jack took me
in for. Aunt Penine came in with the punch while I

74 From Kingdom to Colony

was there, and she tried to have me sent away. She
was angry that father would not do this, but bade
her mind her business and let me alone. When I
opened the door just now, she was trying to listen to
what they were saying, and I came out so suddenly
as to frighten her, so that she stumbled and hurt
herself. I am sorry she is hurt ; but if it had befallen
me, she 'd have been ready enough to say I 'd but
received my just deserts."

" Why should she try to listen at the door? " asked
Mary with surprise, as she twisted one of Dorothy's
short curls about her slender fingers. But Dorothy
gave her head an unruly toss, to release the curl, as
she had ever a dislike for being fondled or touched
in any way, unless it were by her father or brother.

" There is really to be a war, and that soon," she
replied. " The soldiers, they say, are coming down
to the Neck in a few days — perhaps even to-morrow ;
and the people propose — and rightly, too — to fight
them, if needs be, should they try to interfere with
our doings. Aunt Penine sides with the English, I
take it from what I Ve heard her say ; and I know
for a surety she has been slyly making tea to drink,
for all that father has forbidden it. He and Aunt
Lettice miss their tea as much as ever she does her
self, and yet they have never touched a drop. I
intend to tell him to-morrow that I know of a can-
ful of tea in the store-closet. I was talking with
Aunt Lettice about it when you came this evening.
She supposed there was not a grain of it in the
house, and I am sure father has been thinking
the same. Aunt Penine is deceitful and disloyal to

From Kingdom to Colony 75

him — and so I shall tell him, if I live, to-morrow
morning."

" Whatever did she expect to hear, that she did
so mean and dishonorable a thing as to listen at the
keyhole?" Mary spoke musingly, a fine scorn now
touching her lips, and it was clear that her sympathy
for the afflicted one was greatly dampened.

" Perhaps she intends to play spy, as she disap
proves so entirely of the feeling the townsfolk all
have. Spies are well paid, so I Ve heard ; and Aunt
Penine would do anything for money." Dorothy's
eyes flashed, and she stared straight ahead, pulling
at her front locks in an absent-minded way, as though
she were speculating over all the mischief her aunt
might have in view.

" She may mean nothing, after all, Dot," Mary
said, after a moment's thought. " It may be that she
was only curious to know why you were admitted to
the room, while she and all the rest of us were
kept out. Still, if I were you, I 'd tell my father of
her listening."

" Indeed I shall," was the emphatic reply, " and of
the tea as well. I have a notion she got it all from
Robert Jameson. You know what they tell of him ;
and he and Aunt Penine seem to have a deal to say
to one another these days. She has sent Pashar to
him with notes ever so many times, as I know ; and
Pashar seems to have more silver nowadays than
father gives him, for he has, more than once, brought
'Bitha sweets from the store."

Mary nodded significantly at the mention of Robert
Jameson's name. He was the nearest neighbor of

j6 From Kingdom to Colony

Joseph Devereux, and had come to be regarded with
distrust — enmity, indeed — by most of his former
associates.

He was a widower of some wealth, and had no
family; and Aunt Penine had long been suspected
of cherishing a desire to entrap him into a second
matrimony.

A few months before, an exceedingly compli
mentary, almost fulsome, address to Hutchinson, the
recent Governor, had appeared in the columns of a
newspaper known as the " Essex Gazette," to which
were attached the names of some residents of the
town, Jameson's amongst them. It endorsed all that
had been said in praise of his administration, and of his
aiming only at the public good ; and it asserted that
such was the opinion of all thinking and dispassionate
citizens.

This manifest untruth had raised a storm of indig
nation. A town meeting was held, and a committee
appointed, with instructions to inform the signers of
this false and malicious statement that they would be
exonerated only by making a public retraction of all
sentiments contained therein ; and that upon refusing
to do this, they would be denounced as enemies of
the province, desiring to insult both branches of the
legislature, and to affront the town.

Jameson had been one of the few who refused to
comply with the committee's demand ; and he had
since been shunned as an enemy to the cause, and
looked upon with suspicion and distrust.

From Kingdom to Colony 77

CHAPTER IX

/ I VHE household was astir early the next morning
•*• to set the travellers on their road with a warm
meal and a parting word ; and despite the absence
of Aunt Penine, all the domestic machinery moved
as smoothly as usual.

There could still be seen a few stars, not yet
blotted out by the pearly haze, shot with palest blue,
that the dawn was putting in front of them.

Over the sea hung a curtain-like gathering of fog,
and the air was heavy with the odors from the wood
and fern, brought forth by the damp.

Nicholson Broughton, having borrowed a saddle
from his host, had decided to pursue the remainder
of his journey on horseback ; and he, with his two
younger companions, was now about to set forth.

Mary stood near her father's horse, while he gave
her some parting words of encouragement.

" Now bear in mind, Pigsney, all I have said, and
never fail to keep a watchful eye and stout heart.
All at the house will go well until my return; and do
you abide here, safe and close, with our good friends.
Be sure to keep away from the town, and whether
the Britishers come to the Neck or no, you will be
safe."

She promised all this, and turned away as he rode
off, waving a farewell to his host, who stood within

78 From Kingdom to Colony

the porch, with Aunt Lettice and little 'Bitha along
side him.

Hugh Knollys followed, with a gay good-by to
all, while John Devereux, who had been talking with
Dorothy, now vaulted into his saddle.

As he was about to start, Mary Broughton passed
along in her slow walk to the house. She turned, and
their eyes met in a look that told of a mutual under
standing. But she flushed a little, while he only
smiled, doffing his hat as he rode slowly past her
down the driveway.

Dorothy was waiting, close to her father, on the
porch.

" Don't you wish you were a man, Mary," she said,
as her friend came up the steps, " so that you could
ride away to do battle for our rights, instead of being
only a woman, to stop at home and wonder and worry
over matters, while the baking and churning must be
done day after day? "

Her father smiled at this, and pinched Dorothy's
cheek ; then a sadness came to his face as he looked
at her.

" To be a woman does not always mean the doing
of over-much baking or housework," said Mary, with
a meaning smile, her cheeks fresher and her blue eyes
brighter, like the flowers, from the pure morning air.

Joseph Devereux nodded an assent. " If you and
Mary," he said to Dorothy, " were to ride to
Boston this day, who would there be to do what you
are entrusted with the doing on? Mark ye, my
daughter," and he bent a grave look upon her bright
face, " women, as well as men, have high and holy

From Kingdom to Colony 79

duties to perform, — aye, indeed, some of them even
higher. Where would come the nerve and hope for
the proper ambition o' men's minds, were there no
mothers and wives and — sweethearts, to make their
lives worth the living, and their homes worth fighting
for, — yes, and their country so much more worth
saving from oppression. Nay, my baby, what would
become o' your old father, if he had not a little maid
to console him, when his only son must needs face
risks and dangers?"

Dorothy did not answer, but her face softened,
and her arm stole up about his neck.

" Dot," said Mary, presently, " do not forget the
matter we talked of last evening, — that your father
was to know."

"And pray, what is that?" the old gentleman
asked briskly.

" Come into the library, father, with Mary and me,
and we will tell you." And slipping her hand around
his arm, she started to lead him in. Mary was about
to follow, when he turned to her and held out his
other arm. With an answering smile she placed her
hand within it, and all three went inside.

Aunt Lettice had gone off to her own apartments,
taking 'Bitha for her usual morning instructing, and
so they were not likely to be disturbed.

As soon as her father was seated, Dorothy, stand
ing by the window, burst forth with her accustomed
vehemence.

" I want to tell you, father," she exclaimed, " that
I am sure Aunt Penine is a loyalist ! "

" Chut, chut ! " he replied reprovingly. But he

80 From Kingdom to Colony

smiled, used as he was to the differences betwixt his
daughter and her exacting relative.

" I have good reason for what I say," Dorothy
insisted ; " and Mary can tell you so, as well."

" Well, child, first tell me all about it, and do not
begin by misnaming any one," her father said gently.

She told him in a few rapid words, — first, what
had happened the evening before, and ending by a
detailed account of finding the tea in the store-closet.

Her father was scowling ominously by the time the
story was finished ; and he sat in silence for a few
moments, his head bent, as though considering what
she had told him. Then he said : " I thank you, my
child, for what you have told me. I must speak with
Penine o' these matters, and that right away. Do you
go, Dot, and tell her I wish to talk with her, and
must do so as soon as she can see me in her room."

"Why not let Mary go?" Dorothy suggested.
" Aunt Penine likes Mary, and she does not like me
— nor I her." And she looked quite belligerent.

"I will be glad to go, if you say so," Mary offered,
rising from her chair.

" Well, well," he said, " it matters little to me who
goes ; only I must see her at once. And thank you,
Mary, child, if you will kindly tell her so."

As soon as Mary left the room, Dorothy came
over to her father's chair and perched herself upon
one of its oaken arms.

"And now there is another thing I wish to tell
you," she said, " and I 'd best do it now."

He put an arm about her and smiled up into her
troubled face.

From Kingdom to Colony 81

" Well, well," he said playfully, while he smoothed
her curls, " what a wise little head it has grown to be
all on a sudden ! We shall be hearing soon that
Mistress Dorothy Devereux has been invited by the
great men o' the town — Lee and Orne and Gerry,
and the rest o' them — to be present at their next
meeting, and instruct them on matters they wot not
on, despite their age and wisdom."

She would not smile at his badinage, but went on
soberly to warn him of what she suspected between
her Aunt Penine and their ostracized neighbor,
Jameson, — telling him also of the unusual amount of
coin being spent by the boy, Pashar, whom she had
seen carrying notes for her aunt.

The smile left her father's face as he listened to
this, and he shook his head gravely. And when she
finished, he said, as though to himself, " 'T is the
enemies in one's own household that are ever the
most dangerous." Then rising, he added, " Come
with me, Dot, while I speak first to Tyntie."

The old Indian woman had been devoted to the
interests of the family since forty years before, when
Joseph Devereux found her — a beaten, half-starved
child of ten — living with her drunken father in a
wretched hut on the outskirts of the town, and brought
her to his own house for his wife to rear and in
struct. And because of her idolatrous love for her
benefactor and his family, she had endured patiently
the exacting tyranny of* Aunt Penine, whom she
detested.

Her tall, spare figure was now moving about her
domain with a curious dignity inseparable from her

6

82 From Kingdom to Colony

Indian birth ; but she paused in what she was doing
the moment her master and his daughter appeared at
the door, and remained facing them in respectful
silence.

She was alone, the men having gone off to their
duties about the farm, and the maids to the dairy, or
to the housework above stairs.

" I desire to ask you, Tyntie," her master began*
addressing her with the same grave courtesy he
would have used in speaking to the best-born lady
in the land, " if, since I forbade the making or using
o' tea in my house, any has been brewed?"

" Yes, master," she answered without any hesi
tancy; and a sly look, as of revenge, crept into her
black eyes.

" How dared ye do such a thing?" he demanded,
his face severe with indignation.

" I never did it," was her laconic reply.

"Then who did? I command ye to make a clean
breast o' the matter." And he struck his stick per
emptorily upon the floor, while Dorothy, awed by the
unusual anger showing in his voice and bearing, drew
a little away from him.

" It was Mistress Penine brewed the tea, for her
own drinking." And Tyntie showed actual pleasure
in being thus enabled to expose her oppressor.

" And how often hath this happened since I gave
strict orders that none should be had or drunk in this
house o' mine?"

" 'Most every day ; and sometimes more than once
in the day."

" And how were you guarding your master's in-

From Kingdom to Colony 83

terests, to permit such secret goings on under his
roof, without giving him warning?"

The tears rose to Tyntie's eyes and stood spark
ling there ; but her voice was firm as she replied, " It
was not for me to know that Mistress Penine was
doing anything wrongful, nor for me, a servant, to
come to you, my master, with evil reports o' your
own kinsfolk."

She spoke slowly and with calm dignity, and her
words softened the white wrath from the old man's
face.

He bent his head for a moment, as though ponder
ing deeply ; then he looked at her and said in a very
different tone : " You are a right-minded, faithful ser
vant, Tyntie, and I must tell you I am sorry to have
spoken as I did a moment agone. But from this day
henceforth, bear in mind that should you ever see
aught being done under my roof that you Ve heard
me forbid, 't is your bounden duty to come and
inform me freely o' such matter."

" Yes, master." Tyntie now wiped her eyes, and
looked very much comforted.

" Now," he asked, his voice growing stern once
more, " know you where aught o' the forbidden stuff
be kept, or if there still be any in the house ? "

Tyntie went silently to the store-closet and fetched
a sizable can of burnished copper. This she opened
and held toward her master and young mistress, who
saw that it was nearly half filled with the prohibited
tea.

Joseph Devereux scowled fiercely as he beheld this
tangible evidence of Penine's bad faith and selfishness.

84 From Kingdom to Colony

" Do you take that in your own hands, Tyntie, as
soon as may be," he said ; " or no — take it this
instant, down to the beach, and throw it, can and all,
into the water. And see to it that you make men
tion o' this matter to no one."

Then turning slowly, he took his way again to the
front of the house, Dorothy following in silence, and
feeling unwontedly awed by the apprehension of the
storm she felt was about to break ; for it was a rare
matter indeed for Aunt Penine to be the one entirely
at fault in anything.

From Kingdom to Colony 85

CHAPTER X

DOROTHY saw Mary Broughton on the porch
outside and was about to join her, when Mary
turned and called out, " Aunt Penine is waiting to see
your father."

At this Dorothy retraced her steps to the library,
where she had left her father sitting in moody silence,
tracing with his stick invisible writings upon the floor,
the iron ferule making angry clickings against the
oaken polish.

He made no reply to the message she gave him ;
so, after pausing a moment, she said again that her
aunt was awaiting him.

" Yes, yes, child ; I hear ye," he replied almost
impatiently, and as though not wishing to be dis
turbed.

Dorothy said nothing more, but went out and joined
Mary, who, was waiting on the porch ; and, arm in arm,
they strolled out into the sunshiny morning.

They had gone but a little way when Dorothy's
sharp eyes spied Pashar coming from a side door of
the house. His black hand held something white,
which he was thrusting into the pocket of his jacket.

She called to him sharply, and he turned his head
in her direction, while his eyes rolled restlessly. But
he made no movement to come to her, and stood
motionless, as though awaiting her orders.

86 From Kingdom to Colony

" Come here ! " she called peremptorily ; but still
he hesitated.

" Do you come here this instant, Pashar, as I bid
you," she commanded, now taking a few steps toward
him.

At this he came forward, but in a halting way, and
at length stood before her, looking very ill at ease.

" Give me that letter," Dorothy demanded, extend
ing her hand for it.

" Mist'ess Penine done say — " he began in a hesi
tating, remonstrative fashion; but Dorothy cut him
short.

" Give me that letter," she repeated, stamping her
small foot, " or you '11 be sorry ! "

Trained like a dumb beast to obedience, the negro
boy fumbled in his pocket and took out a folded paper
which he handed to his imperious young mistress.

" What '11 I say ter Massa Jameson when I sees
him?" he asked tremblingly, as Dorothy's little
white fingers closed over the letter. " He '11 lay his
ridin'-whip 'bout my shoulders, if I goes ter him
now."

" My father will surely lay his riding-whip about
your shoulders, if you go near Jameson again. I '11
see to it myself that you get whipped, if you dare
do such a thing," exclaimed Dorothy ; and the angry
flashing of her dark eyes bore witness to her sincerity.

" Now," she added, " go about your work, — what
ever you have to do. And mind, don't you dare
stir a step — no matter who bids you — to Jameson's
place ; else you will get into trouble that will make
you wish you had obeyed me."

From Kingdom to Colony 87

With this she turned back with Mary in the direc
tion of the house.

"Ye won't have me whipped, will ye, mist'ess ?"'
Pashar whimpered, as he looked after her. " Mist'ess
Penine — she tole me I was ter go. An', 'sides, I gets
money from Massa Jameson for ev'ry letter I fetches
him."

" I '11 see presently about your getting whipped,"
was Dorothy's uncomforting reply, as she glanced
over her shoulder at the trembling boy.

The two girls walked quickly toward the house,
while Pashar betook himself off with a very downcast
air, digging his black fists into his eyes as if he felt
only too certain of being punished for his wrong
doing.

Joseph Devereux was ascending the stairway,
bound for his sister-in-law's room, when the two
girls came in from outside. Dorothy called quickly,
and speeding after him, placed the letter in his hand,
as he paused and turned to face her.

In a low voice she acquainted him with what she
had taken upon herself to do, adding, " I was fearful
of what she might have told him, if perchance she
overheard anything last night of the gunpowder and
arms."

" Wise, trusty little maid," he said, a slow smile
touching the gloom of his set face. " You have acted
rightly and with great discretion, Dot. And now I
will see what Penine has to say o' the matters that
look so grave, as we see them."

Pausing at her closed door, on the left-hand side of
the upper passage, he knocked, and then entered, as

88 From Kingdom to Colony

her querulous voice, now somewhat subdued, bade
him.

Penine was lying back on a settle, a bright-hued
patchwork of silk thrown over her spare form ; and
her eyes showed traces of recent tears.

Her brother-in-law seated himself in an arm-chair
near her, his face grave to sternness, as he bent a
piercing look upon her troubled face.

She cast a furtive glance at the paper he still held
in his hand; then her eyes fell, and she began to
pluck nervously at the edge of the covering, while
her face became filled with an expression of guilty
embarrassment.

" Penine," he began, in a voice quite low, but full
of severity, "these be times when, as you well know, it
behooves a householder to look most carefully to the
doings of those about him. He must see to it that
all appearance, as well as doing, o' wrong be most
strictly avoided. And so I have come to ask you, as
one o' my own household, how is it that you have
been brewing tea for yourself, after all that's been
done and said; and how 'tis that you have such a
supply of the stuff in my house?"

Penine flushed angrily, and tried to look him in the
eyes, while her lips half parted, as though to make
some retort. Then she seemed to alter her mind, for
she remained silent, her eyes falling guiltily before
his stern, searching gaze.

" Do not seek to hide your fault by another one —
o' falsehood," he warned her, more sternly than be
fore. "I know what I am accusing you of to be the
truth, — more 's the pity. And it surprises and grieves

From Kingdom to Colony 89

me that a woman o' such years as you should set
a pernicious example to those who, younger and
inferior in station to yourself, look to you for a
proper code of action for their following."

" What harm is it, I would like to know," she
burst out, but weakly, " that I should drink my tea,
if I like?"

" The harm you do is to defy your country's law,
and make me seem disloyal and false to my word of
honor," he replied with increasing sternness. " And
this you have no right to do, while you abide under
my roof."

" My country's law is the law of His Gracious
Majesty," she answered, plucking up a little spirit, but
yet unable to meet his dark, angry eyes, " and I have
never heard that he forbade his loyal subjects all the
tea they could pay for and drink."

" Do ye mean me to understand that ye set your
self up as the enemy o' your townsfolk and kindred ? "
he demanded, his voice rising. " I Ve suspected as
much since I had knowledge o' the fact o' your send
ing notes to Robert Jameson."

" You have no right to talk to me so, Joseph," she
said, with a whimper, terrified at the angry lighting
of his face, now ablaze with wrath.

"And ye have no right to act in a manner that
makes it possible for me to presume to. If things be
not so black against ye as they surely look, take this
note that ye sent my servant with just now, to be
delivered to our country's avowed enemy, and read
every word aloud to me."

He held the letter toward her; but she made such

90 From Kingdom to Colony

an eager clutch for it that a sudden impulse led him
to change his mind, and he drew back his hand.

" No," he said, " on second thought, 't is best that
ye give me permit to read it myself, aloud."

" No, no ! " she exclaimed almost breathlessly ;
and the unmistakable terror in her voice and eyes
confirmed him in his determination to see for himself
the contents of the letter.

" I have to beg your pardon, Penine," he said with
formal courtesy, " for seeming to do a most ungallant
act ; but your manner only proves to me what is my
duty."

With this he deliberately broke the seal and ran
his eyes over the paper, while Penine cast one terri
fied glance at him, and then fell back, silent and
cowering, her ashy face covered by her trembling
hands.

She had written Jameson of the intended landing
of the arms and powder. And Joseph Devereux
knew she had done so with a view to having him
send word of the matter to the Governor, hoping
in this way to win honor and reward for the man she
expected to lure into speedy wedlock.

He read the letter once more, and then sat silent,
as though pondering over all her selfish treachery
and disloyalty. And while he was thus musing, the
clock on the mantel ticked with painful loudness, and
some flies crawling about the panes of the closed
windows buzzed angrily.

When at length he spoke, his wrath seemed to
have given place to pity, mingled with utter con
tempt.

From Kingdom to Colony 91

" I can scarce credit, Penine," he said slowly, all
trace of anger gone from his voice, " that you should
have realized to the full all you were doing when you
took such a step, — that you were bringing the British
guns down to slay my son, an' like as not my inno
cent little maid ; a fate which now, thank God, has
been kept from them."

His voice had become husky, and he paused to
clear his throat. Then he resumed, speaking in the
same deliberate manner: "Because o' their deliver
ance from death I will try and forgive what you have
tried to do; but I must not forget it, lest another
such thing befall. And now, until you be able to
travel, you shall be made comfortable here. But so
soon as your ankle can be used, then you shall go to
your brother, in Lynn, for no roof o' mine shall har
bor secret enemies to my country. And," now with
more sternness, " I warn you, that should you seek
to hold converse or communication of any sort with
this man Jameson while you are in my house, I shall
report the matter to the town committee, and leave
them to settle with you."

He arose from his chair, and without another
glance in her direction went out of the room, leaving
Penine in tears.

92 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER XI

THE days intervening until Friday passed with
out event, and the household affairs went on
much as before, Tyntie proving herself fully capable
of replacing Aunt Penine as head of the domestic
regime.

That lady kept her room, seeing no one except
Tyntie and one of the younger maids. She had re
fused all overtures extended by her niece and Mary
Broughton ; and so, by the advice of the head of the
house, they left her to herself.

Even Aunt Lettice was refused admittance by her
sister, and refrained from seeking it a second time
after being informed by Joseph Devereux of the
recent occurrences.

The gentle old lady now went about the house in a
sad, subdued fashion, secretly debating as to whether
she would decide against King or Colony, but care
fully keeping her thoughts from being known to
others.

Johnnie Strings had kept his word to Dorothy, and
brought the ribbon and lace. Aunt Lettice had paid
him for the goods she purchased, making no response
when he said, as he strapped his pack, " The British
ers be quartered on the Neck, ma'am, — landed there
this very mornin'. The reg'lars, — they came down

From Kingdom to Colony 93

by ships from Salem; an' a troop o' dragoons be
ridin' over to join 'em."

It was Mary Broughton who asked, " What are
they come there for, Johnnie, — do you know?"

" Any one can guess, mistress, I take it," he re
plied significantly, busying himself with the buckles.

"And what do you guess, Johnnie?" asked Dor
othy, who was examining a sampler 'Bitha was work
ing, which was to announce, —

" Tabitha Hollis is my name,
New England is my nation,
Marblehead is my dwelling-place,
And Christ is my Salvation."

Johnnie Strings finished his work with the straps
and buckles ; then raising himself from the floor, he
said jocosely: "Now, Mistress Dorothy, surely ye
don't care to burden your mind with matters o' state.
Whatever they be come down for, 't is a true fact that
the redcoats be on the Neck, — a hundred or more
of 'em. An' as I was tellin' ye but t' other day, ye 'd
best keep at home till they be called away again."

This was Thursday; and Friday morning the two
girls, with 'Bitha, were down in the Sachem's Cave, a
small opening that ran, chasm-like, into the rocks
a few feet above the level of the sea, with a natural
roof projecting over it.

Within was a sandy floor, — whether or not the
work of man, none living could say. It was studded
with shells, placed there by childish hands, and the
cave had served as playhouse for many generations
of boys and girls.

94 From Kingdom to Colony

The opening was hung about with a lace-like weed,
wherein some drops of water were now sparkling in
the morning sunshine ; and beyond, stretching away
to the horizon, could be seen the sea.

The waves creeping in against the shore broke
with gentle plashings as they touched the rocky base
of the headlands ; a wonderful serenity lay over the
face of the earth, and all between the land and
horizon seemed a blank and dreaming space of
water.

" We are sure to have a fine night," Dorothy had
just said, as she looked out at the sea and sky.

" H-m-m," murmured Mary, warningly, and with a
quick glance at 'Bitha, who seemed to be poring
intently over a small book she had taken from her
pocket.

"What are you reading, 'Bitha?" Dorothy asked;
and the little girl came close beside her.

It was Aunt Lattice's " Church Book ; " and on
the titlepage was : —

"A NEW VERSION OF

the
PSALMS

of
DAVID,

fitted to the Tunes ufed in the Churches:

With feveral Hymns

Out of the
Old and New Teftaments.

By John Barnard,
Paftor of a Church in Marblehead."

From Kingdom to Colony

95

In the back part of the book was the music of
several tunes such as were used at that time in the
churches; and amongst them was one known as

Marblehead."

* CANT.

Good Parson Barnard had years since been laid
away in his grave on the old Burial Hill, which rose
higher than all the land about, as though Nature were
seeking to lift as near as might be to the skies the
dead committed to her care.

* Copied literally from publication "printed by J. Draper for
T. Leverett in Cornhill 1752."

96 From Kingdom to Colony

The quaint child seemed to delight in pondering
over these hymns, many of which were past her com
prehending; and the long s, so like an f, led her to
make many curious blunders when trying to repeat
the words, — a thing she was always proud to be asked
to do.

Once she had insisted upon being told why it was
that saints must have " fits ; " and it appeared that she
had misread the long s in the sentence, " The Saints
that fit above."

Her greatest favorite, and the one she often read,
was: —

" My Heart, like Grafs that 's fmit with heat
Withers, that I forget to eat ;
By reafon of my conftant Groans
I am reduced to fkin and Bones.
I 'm like the Pelican, and Owl,
That lonely in the Deferts ftroll ;
As mournful fparrows percht alone
On the Houfe Top, I walk and moan."

" Tell me, cousin, — what sort o' bottles does God
have?" she now asked, as Dorothy glanced at the
book held against her knee.

" 'Bitha ! " Mary exclaimed reprovingly, while
Dorothy stared at the child, and began to laugh.

'Bitha could never endure to be laughed at; and
being very fond of Mary Broughton, she did not relish
her disapproval. And so at this double attack upon
her sensibilities, she looked hurt and a bit angry.

" If," she demanded, " 't is wicked to say that God
has bottles, what does the Church Book say so for? "
And she pointed to the open page.

From Kingdom to Colony 97

" Whatever does the child mean ? " asked Dorothy
of Mary, as she took the book into her own hands.

" There, — right there ! " was 'Bitha's triumphant
retort. "Read for yourself!" And she trailed a
small finger along the lines, —

" Thou hast a book for my complaints,
A bottle for my Tears."

" There ! " the child repeated. " You see 't is so.
Why should God keep bottles in Heaven, — and what
sort would He keep?"

" I think you will know more about such things
when you grow older," was Dorothy's irresponsive
answer ; and she handed the book to Mary, while her
dancing eyes glinted with topaz hues caught from the
sunshine without.

" You are an odd child, 'Bitha," Mary said, smiling
in spite of herself as she read the lines.

" That is what I am always told when I ask about
anything," the little girl pouted.

Before any reply could be made to this general
accusation a shadow darkened the opening of the
cave, and looking up, all three sprang to their feet
with exclamations of dismay.

A vivid gleam of scarlet shut away the daylight,
and a pair of sea-blue eyes, set in an olive-hued face,
were looking at them with much curiosity.

The two older girls stood speechless, facing the
intruder, whose gaze wandered with respectful curi
osity over the regal form and gold-brown hair of
the one, whose mouth was decidedly scornful, as were

7

98 From Kingdom to Colony

also her steady blue eyes, which regarded him fear
lessly, despite her quaking heart.
, Then the new-comer's eyes turned to the smaller
figure ; and a flash of admiration came into them as
his hand stole to his head and removed its covering,
while he said with unmistakable courtesy, " Do not
be alarmed, I beg of you, — I mean no harm."

" What do you want ? " Mary Broughton demanded,
seeming in no wise softened by his gentle bearing.

" Only your good-will," he replied, with a smile
that showed beautiful teeth.

She flashed a scornful glance in return.

" Good will ! " she repeated. " That is something
we have not in our power to give one who wears a
coat the color of yours." She spoke defiantly, look
ing the young man squarely in the face.

"Such words, uttered by such lips, almost make
me coward enough to regret the color," he said good-
naturedly, and as though determined not to take
offence.

With this he took a step or two inside the cave ;
and small 'Bitha, dismayed at the near approach of
the scarlet-clad form, clung tightly to Dorothy's
gown, pressing her face into its folds.

" Speak him fair, Mary," Dorothy whispered,
apprehending possible danger from her friend's want
of discretion.

But Mary did not hear, or else she did not care to
heed, for she said : " Neither your raiment, nor aught
that concerns you, can matter to us. This is our
property you are trespassing upon; and I bid you
begone, this moment."

From Kingdom to Colony 99

" You are surely lacking in courtesy, mistress," he
replied, still smilingly.

The words were addressed to Mary, but his glow
ing eyes were fixed upon Dorothy, who was still
standing with her arms about 'Bitha. The color was
coming and going in her cheeks, and something in
the big eyes told him that a smile was not far
away.

"We have no courtesy for British soldiers," was
Mary's haughty answer to his imputation ; and there
was an angry tapping of her foot upon the shell
floor.

He shrugged his shoulders, and turning more
directly away from Mary, now spoke to Dorothy.

" I was only wandering about the shore," he de
clared, looking at her as though pleading for her
good-will, " and hearing voices as I stood on the rocks
above, I made bold to find out from whence they
came."

Mary had not taken her eyes from his face, and
now she was quick to answer him.

" Well," she said, before Dorothy could speak,
" having found where the voices came from, you 'd
best go on about your own affairs and leave us to
ours."

"And what if I refuse?" he asked quickly, a flash
coming from his eyes as though she had at length
nettled him.

" I should try to tumble you over the rocks at
your back," she answered with sudden anger; and
she stepped toward him as if to carry out her threat.

He moved back hastily, and then, missing his foot-

ioo From Kingdom to Colony

ing on the slippery granite, fell over backwards down
the rocks.

Dorothy's shriek was echoed shrilly by little 'Bitha,
while Mary stood as though transfixed, looking at
the opening through which the young man had
disappeared.

Dorothy was the first to find her voice. " Mary,"
she cried in terrified reproach, " you have made him
fall into the water, and perhaps he will drown.
Whatever shall we do?"

Mary did not reply, but speeding to the entrance
of the cave, looked out over the uneven ledges.

The Britisher was lying, apparently unconscious,
only a short distance below her, his shoulders caught
in a deep seam of the rocks, while the rest of his body
lay along a narrow ledge a few feet lower.

"There he is," she said, turning a white face to
Dorothy, — " lying there in the rocks."

Putting 'Bitha aside, Dorothy came and looked
down.

" See the blood on his face ! " she exclaimed
wildly. " T is coming from a cut on the side of his
head. Oh, Mary, I 'm afraid you have killed him ! "

Mary started to reply; but Dorothy had already
sprung past her through the mouth of the cave, and
was flying down the rocks to where the wounded
man lay.

Tearing the silken kerchief from about her neck,
she knelt beside him and endeavored to wipe the
blood from his face, while Mary watched her in silence
from above, with 'Bitha clinging to her, and crying
softly.

From Kingdom to Colony 101

" I must have some water, Mary," said Dorothy,
who saw that the blood came from a cut in the side
of the young man's head, " and I want another ker
chief. Throw down yours."

Mary, without replying, tossed down her own
kerchief, but without removing her eyes from the
white face beneath her.

Dorothy ran to the sand-beach near by, and, hav
ing dabbled her bloody kerchief in the water, hurried
back ; then laying it folded upon the wound, she bound
it fast with the one Mary had thrown her, lifting the
sufferer's head as she did this, and holding one of his
broad shoulders against her knee, while her nimble
ringers deftly tied the knots.

Scarcely had she finished when she was startled,
but no less relieved, to hear a long, quivering sigh
come from his lips ; and her color deepened as she
looked into his face and met his opening eyes gazing
wonderingly into her own. Then they wandered over
her bared neck and throat, only to return to her eyes,
dwelling there with a look that made her voice trem
ble as she said, " We are sorry you are hurt, sir ; I
hope it is nothing serious."

He made no reply, and, after a moment's pause,
she asked, " Do you feel able to stand on your
feet?"

Still he did not answer, but gave her that same
intent, questioning look, as if gazing through and
beyond the depths of the eyes above him.

As she stammeringly repeated her inquiry, he
sighed heavily, and seemed to shake his dreaming
senses awake, for, raising himself a little, he passed

IO2 From Kingdom to Colony

his shapely brown hand over his bandaged head, and
laughed, albeit not very mirthfully.

" The other fair young dame must be rejoiced at
my mishap," he said, "but — I thank you for your
care. I seem to have done something to my head,
for it feels like a burning coal." And he touched the
bandage over the wound.

" It is the salt water, getting into the cut," Dorothy
explained, as he' rose slowly and stood before her.
" I am very sorry it is so painful ; but it will stop
the bleeding."

" As it was you who placed it there, I like it to
burn," he said in a tone to reach her ears alone.
" But I '11 not forget, even when the pain ceases."
And he looked down into her face in a way that
made her eyes droop.

" I regret very much, sir, that you were injured,"
said Mary Broughton, her voice coming from over
his head.

He glanced up at her and bowed mockingly.
Then stooping to regain his hat, he said, bending his
eyes on Dorothy, " Tell me the name I am to remem
ber you by."

She did not answer ; and he stood looking at her
as though awaiting her pleasure.

" That can be no matter," she said at last, and in a
very low voice.

" Ah, but it is — a very great matter," he ex
claimed eagerly, laying a hand on her arm, as she
turned away to climb up to the cavern.

Some inward force seemed to be impelling her,
and scarcely aware of what she was saying, she

From Kingdom to Colony 103

murmured her own name, and he repeated it after
her.

This brought a still deeper color to her cheeks;
but as if remembering all she had so strangely for
gotten in the presence of this enemy of her country,
she pushed away his detaining hand, and passed
quickly up the rocks to where Mary was standing.

The young man said nothing more, but looked
up at the two; then lifting his hat, he turned and
walked slowly away.

104 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER XII

HE had scarcely gone when the two girls made
haste to leave the cave and return to the
house.

" 'T is most unfortunate for us, Dot, that he found
the cave, or that all this should befall," said Mary, as
they went down the rocks. "You know what we
have to do to-night; and it may make our work
dangerous, now that he has been here."

A soft whistle interrupted Dorothy's reply; and
looking up, they saw the lean visage of Johnnie
Strings, who was perched upon the rocks above the
cave they had just left.

Having attracted their attention, the pedler made
haste to join them.

" Well, I snum ! " he exclaimed. " Mistress Mary,
whatever was the Britisher seekin' about here, an'
talkin' about? What ailed his head, all tied up, like
'twas hurt?"

" He said he heard us talking, and came to see who
it was," small 'Bitha took it upon herself to explain,
" and Mary Broughton pushed him down the rocks."

Johnnie began to laugh, but Dorothy turned to
the child and said, " 'Bitha, you know that it is not
true, for he stepped backward himself, and fell over."

"Yes; but 'twas Mary made him," 'Bitha insisted.

From Kingdom to Colony 105

" And, 'though I was sorry to have him hurt, I was
glad Mary made him go away."

" Were you there all the time, Johnnie Strings, and
never came nigh to help us? " demanded Mary, indig
nantly. They were now walking along together, for
Johnnie seemed inclined to accompany them to the
house.

" Nay, nay, mistress," he declared emphatically,
but still grinning, as though vastly pleased. " But I
should say ye needed no help from me to frighten
away redcoats. I only came up as I heard Mistress
Dorothy say you 'd made him fall into the water.
Then I sat an' watched her tie up his head, — more 's
the pity ; for belike he '11 only use it to hatch more
deviltry for his soldiers to carry out hereabouts."

" Do you know who he is? " inquired Dorothy, her
face taking on a little more color.

" Yes, mistress, — he is a dragoon. I saw him
over at Salem t' other day. They call him Cornet
Southorn ; an' I only hope he don't get to know my
face too well." Johnnie winked as he said this, and
his voice had a note of mystery.

" I don't believe he would ever harm us," said
Dorothy, paying no attention to the pedler's anxiety
concerning himself.

Johnnie's eyes fastened upon her glowing face with
a look of surprise as he remarked grimly, " He 's a
Britisher, an' our sworn enemy."

On the porch of the house they found Joseph
Devereux, who listened with frowning brows while
the girls told him of their adventure.

" Go within, child, to the grandame," he bade

106 From Kingdom to Colony

'Bitha, when they had finished ; and as soon as she
was gone he said to the pedler, " Now, Strings, you
may, or may not, know aught o' the work in hand
for the night."

The pedler nodded understandingly. " Me an'
Lavinia Amelia jogged a bit o' the mornin' down
road with the party from here, an' I was reckonin' to
offer my help, should it be needed. I was on my way
this very mornin' to tell ye that Master Broughton
an' the rest thought I 'd better have some of our own
men 'round hereabouts, handy for the powder party
to-night."

" 'T is best that you do so, as matters have turned
out. And 't is wiser that you be trusted to give the
signals to the ' Pearl,' for a safe landing o' the stuff,
and that Mary and Dorothy be left out o' the matter
altogether. "Tis no work for women to risk, with
the British soldiery skulking about the place."

The day passed without event, save that a number
of men — mostly brawny, weather-beaten sailors —
came to the house, to go away again after a private
converse with Joseph Devereux.

Johnnie Strings was about the place all day, — now
wandering down to the beach to look out over the
wide expanse of ocean, as he whittled unceasingly at
a bit of stick and whistled softly to himself, or else sit
ting on the steps of the porch, telling wonderful stories
to 'Bitha. But wherever he was, or what doing, his
keen little eyes were always roving here and there, as
though on the lookout for something unexpected.

It was evident that he was nervous and ill at ease ;
and this, for Johnnie Strings, was a new thing.

From Kingdom to Colony 107

Toward sunset he arose from the porch steps and
gave a great sigh, as of relief that the day was ended.
Then, without a word to any one, he tramped off in
the direction of the Neck.

" 'T is as well," he muttered to himself, " to see
what the devils be doin', an' if they be like to suspect
what is goin' on about 'em."

The sunset was of marvellous beauty. It was
as if all the golds, purples, and scarlets of the hour
had been pounded to a fine dust, and this was roll
ing in from over the ocean in one great opaline mist.

The waves, curling in to break upon the sands of
Riverhead Beach, seemed to be pouring out flames
and sparks; while the quieter waters of Great Bay,
on the other side of the causeway, looked as though
shot through with long, luminous rays of light, that
slanted athwart the mists of prismatic coloring, to
withdraw swiftly now and again, like search-lights
seeking to probe the clear water to its uttermost
depths.

But the far-off eastern horizon held aloof from all
this glory. It stood out like a wall of pearl and cold
gray, with no sail showing against it to Johnnie
Strings' sharp eyes, as he took his way across the
narrow strip of causeway that left the Devereux
estate behind, and led to the Neck and the enemy's
camp.

The pedler knew nothing of the passion called
love, else he would never have been so lacking in
shrewdness as to formulate the scheme now working
in his mind. And this, notwithstanding the suspi
cion that had shot through his wide-awake brain at

io8 From Kingdom to Colony

the way he had seen Cornet Southern looking into
the downcast face of Dorothy Devereux, and had
noted later her words in his defence.

His present idea — and one that had been gather
ing force all day — was to see the young officer, and
while pretending to have come solely to inquire as
to his injury, to so lead the talk as to impress upon
his mind the needlessness of watching the Devereux
place or household, which he should be made to
understand consisted only of the women-folk and
one enfeebled old gentleman, — the son being away
in Boston.

And now, as he neared the enemy's quarters, he
chuckled to himself at the cleverness of his scheme.

The British troops had taken possession of the
entire Neck, occupying several large warehouses
standing near the end, and appropriating even the
buildings used by the lighthouse-keeper and his wife,
who, with her two children and as many of her most
precious possessions as she could carry, had gone
across the bay to abide with friends in the town.

Johnnie Strings knew this, and gritted his teeth in
silent rage as he saw a group of redcoats standing
around a fire where they were cooking some of the
good woman's chickens for their evening meal.

They hailed him good-naturedly, and invited him
to join them, several of the soldiers recognizing him
as one from whom they had purchased certain things
necessary for their comfort.

But he declined their offer, and pulling his hat well
over his forehead, the better to conceal his features,
went on beyond to another group, and demanded to

From Kingdom to Colony 109

be taken to the presence of Cornet Southern, speak
ing in a way to imply that he had an important mes
sage for that officer.

He was ushered at once into the front room of the
lighthouse-keeper's abode, where, upon a settle drawn
near the window overlooking Great Bay, sat the per
sonage he desired to see.

The young man's head was still bandaged, and the
table before him with food and dishes upon it was
evidence of his having supped alone; this confirming
what Johnnie Strings had suspected, — that the
soldiers upon the Neck were at present under the
charge of Cornet Southern.

Captain Shandon, who should have been there, —
an elegant fop, high in favor with the Governor, — was
sure to avoid any rough service, such as this, prefer
ring to remain until the last moment in Salem, where
better fare, both as to food and wines, to say naught
of the gentler sex, was to be had.

Johnnie Strings stood in the shadow, without re
moving his hat, as Cornet Southorn demanded pleas
antly enough to know his business.

" I came to see how your head was doin' at this
hour o' the day, young sir," the pedler answered in
an obsequious tone.

As the last two words came from his lips, the
officer scowled. He was only five-and-twenty, and
looked still younger; and he was boyish enough to
resent any familiarity grounded upon his seeming
youth.

" Have a care, old man, as to how you address His
Majesty's officers," he said with some severity, ac-

1 1 o From Kingdom to Colony

companied by a pompousness illy in keeping with
his frank, boyish face.

" I meant no harm, Cornet Southern," the pedler
replied in an apologetic way. " I saw ye over at
Salem t* other day, when I was peddlin' my wares
there ; an' I 've been all day at the house o' Mistress
Dorothy Devereux, the young lady who tied up your
hurt head this mornin'. And so" — here Johnnie
smiled knowingly — "I came to see if ye were any
the worse for your fall, which might have been a bit
o' bad luck, had not the ledge caught ye an' held ye
from slippin' into the sea."

The young man's manner changed at once.

"Did Mistress Dorothy Devereux send you to
inquire?" he asked eagerly.

"She send me?" said the pedler cautiously, and
lowering his voice. " Lawks ! 't is well her old father
don't hear ye ; 'though sure he be that feeble he 's
good for little but tongue fight, an' the only son be
away to Boston for this many a day. An' that," he
went on to say quickly, seeing that the young man
was about to speak, " is one reason why 't is well for
me to be about the place till the brother cares to
come home, with all those women-folk there, an' no
man but the old father, who is feeble, as I 've said.
An' 't is not very safe for them, who be easily frighted
by strange men comin' 'round, 'specially soldiers."

This was a long speech for Johnnie to make, and
he watched narrowly its effect upon the young officer.
This was soon apparent, for he said at once, " You
have done well to tell me of this, and I '11 see to it that
none of my men cause any annoyance to the ladies."

From Kingdom to Colony 1 1 1

He fell so neatly into the trap that Johnnie Strings
could scarcely keep from laughing outright ; but all
he said was — and very meekly: "Ye be most kind,
sir, an' I '11 tell Mistress Dorothy what ye say. An'
I '11 tell her as well that your head be none the worse
for its thumpin' on the rocks." With this he backed
toward the door.

" No, no," said Southorn, " my head is all right.
But come back, won't you, — come and have some
thing to drink before you go?" And he pounded
vigorously on the table.

But Johnnie declined, with many thanks, asserting
that he never drank anything, — a statement fully in
accord with his fictitious story concerning the Deve-
reux household. But he reckoned upon having ac
complished his purpose, and so bowed himself out,
just as a red-faced orderly appeared in response to
his officer's summons.

" Never mind, Kief," said the latter, as the soldier
stood stiffly in the doorway awaiting his orders. " I
don't need you now." Then, as the man saluted and
turned to go, he asked, " Who is that fellow who just
left? Do you know?"

" Johnnie Strings, sir, the pedler ; 'most everybody
knows 'im 'twixt Boston town and Gloucester."

" Ah, yes, I 've heard of him before. That is all,
Kief; you may go."

As soon as he was alone, Kyrle Southorn, Cornet
in His Majesty's Dragoons, bethought himself of how
strangely lacking he had been in proper dignity dur
ing his brief interview with this humble pedler; and
a feeling of sharp anger beset him for a moment as

1 1 2 From Kingdom to Colony

he took himself to task for his unofficerlike demeanor
and manner of speech.

Then came a mental picture of the distracting face
he had seen that same morning; he seemed to be
looking once more into the girl's eyes, and feeling
the soft touch of her little hands about his head.

He recalled all this, and gave utterance to a queer,
short laugh, as though in the effort to excuse his
folly.

" Either that girl has bewitched me," he muttered,
lying back in his chair, " or else the cut in my head
has been making me addlepated all day." And he
let his gaze wander out through the window, where
the dusk was coming fast, blotting out the fort and
town like a dark veil, pierced here and there by the
dimly twinkling lights showing from the houses.

"I wonder if she sent the fellow?" his thoughts
ran on. " She told me she was sorry for my being
hurt, and she looked it. But the other — the fair
one — she was a tartar." And he laughed again at
the recollection of Mary Broughton's angry blue eyes
and dauntless bearing.

" From what I Ve seen of these folk," he said,
now half aloud, " it will be no easy matter to
suppress their meetings and make them obey His
Majesty's laws. They seem not to know what fear
or submission may mean." Then, after pondering a
few minutes, " I wonder if it would not be a wise
thing for me to call upon this man Devereux, as he is
so old and feeble, and assure him and his women-folk
that I will see to it they be not molested — annoyed
in any way? I might see her again, — I might come

From Kingdom to Colony 1 1 3

to know her ; and this would be very pleasant." And
now his thoughts trailed away into rosy musings.

If Johnnie Strings had not added fresh fuel to the
fire already kindled in the breast of the impetuous
young Englishman by Dorothy's sweet face and
pitying eyes, — had he not made it burn more fiercely
by giving him reason to believe that she had sent to
inquire for his welfare, — he might not have thought
to carry out his present impulse.

He was seized by a strong desire to see for himself
the place where she dwelt, — to look upon her sur
roundings, — to make more perfect the picture already
in his mind, by adding to it the scenes amid which
her daily life was passed.

Such was the young man's desire ; and his was a
nature whose longing was likely to manifest itself by
acts, and more especially now, in the very first heart
affair of his life.

As soon as the guards were posted and the
countersign given out, he discarded his uniform
for a fisherman's rough coat, and put on a large
slouch hat, which covered his head, bandage and
all. And thus attired, he set forth alone to visit the
scene of his morning's adventure, and to investigate
its surroundings.

ii4 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER XIII

THE night was clear, bright, and starlit, with not
a wreath of vapor drifting. The rising wind
moaned through the woods about the Devereux
homestead, that loomed, a dark mass, and silent as a
deserted house.

From the shore below came the hoarse roar of the
tumbling water, to mingle with the wailing murmur
of the wind ; and now and then could be heard,
clear-cut and eerie, the cry of a screech-owl from
the woods.

As evening closed in, Joseph Devereux had ordered
that no lights be shown about the house, lest they
might attract the attention of any straggling soldiers ;
and he felt assured that this warning would be suf-
-ficient to intimidate the women into the greatest
caution.

As for the men, they were all, even old Leet, out
with the party watching at the " Black Hole," —
a bit of the sea shut in by a wood that bordered a
wide sweep of meadow known as the " Raccoon Lot."
It was here that the expected powder and arms were
to be concealed by burying them in the earth, after
being wrapped in oilskin coverings.

Johnnie Strings had gone alone to the Sachem's
Cave, ready to give the signal.

From Kingdom to Colony 115

The cave was somewhat farther down the shore,
and a light shown above it could be plainly seen
from the open sea.

The rising wind piped softly about the closed
window where Mary Broughton was sitting in the
starlight, absorbed in her own anxious thoughts,
until aroused by something unusual in Dorothy's
appearance and manner of moving about. The girl
was at the farther side of the unlit room, and Mary
asked her what she was doing.

A low laugh was the only answer; and upon the
question being repeated, Dorothy came to the win
dow, and Mary saw that she was clad in a complete
suit of boy's clothes.

The unexpected transition was so startling that for
a moment she could not speak, but sat looking at
Dorothy in amazement.

" Oh, Dot," she then exclaimed, " you should take
shame to yourself for doing such a thing ! "

She could see, even in the gloom, the wilful toss of
Dorothy's head, whose curls were let down and tied
back with a ribbon, thus completing the masculine
disguise.

" Whatever are you thinking about, to play such
pranks at a time like this?" Mary demanded
reproachfully.

" That is just it, Mary," Dorothy replied. She
seemed in no wise abashed, but spoke with perfect
seriousness. " I do it because of the time, and of
what is going to happen to-night. Father said 't was
not safe for us to go abroad, because we wore petti
coats. Now here is this old suit Jack outgrew years

1 1 6 From Kingdom to Colony

ago, and I Ve always kept it to masquerade in ; but
to-night it will serve me in a more serious matter. I
cannot stop in the house; I am too anxious about
Jack. I want to see him and the others get ashore
in safety ; and I 've no fear but, dressed in this way,
it will be easy for me to do so."

" But you must not," Mary protested. " How can
you dare to think of such a thing? Suppose some
of the men should recognize you, — and they will
be keeping a sharp lookout for strangers — what
would your father say?" And she began to have
thoughts of seeing him, and so frustrating this wild
scheme.

" I tell you I must go, and will go, Mary ; so do
not try to prevent me. I know every inch of ground
hereabouts, and can easily keep out of the way, even
should any one try to hinder me. Why will you not
go with me?"

Dorothy spoke quietly, but very earnestly ; and as
she finished, she placed both her hands on Mary's
shoulders, as though to compel her consent.

Mary hesitated. There was in her own heart a like
desire to that of the younger girl ; she, too, wished
to get out of doors, and see all that should take
place. But she held herself to be more prudent than
the impulsive Dorothy, and so for a time she de
murred with her inclination.

But it was only for a time. Dorothy's impetuous
arguments fairly swept her off her balance, as usually
happened with any one who was fond of the girl ; and
Mary agreed to be her companion.

It was some minutes after this when the two stole

From Kingdom to Colony 117

noiselessly down the back stairway and let themselves
out of the door opening toward the sheds at the rear
of the house. As Dorothy locked it on the outside
and put the key in her pocket, she whispered: "We
might have bribed Tyntie to let us out, but 't is as well
not to risk getting her into trouble. I shall tell father
all about it to-morrow, and I know of a certainty he '11
not be angry. To be sure, he may scold me a little ;
but " — with a low laugh — "I can soon kiss him into
good humor again."

" Don't you think, Dot, it is rather of a shame, —
the way you do things, and then tell your father
afterwards ? " Mary asked as they walked along.

" Assuredly not," was the ready answer, " else I
might not get so many chances to ' do things,' as you
call it. I never do aught that is really wrong; I love
my father far too dearly for that. But I am young,
and he is old ; and that, I suppose, is why we do not
think alike about all matters. He has often said I
ought to have been a boy, and I agree with him;
though I dare say I shall be a proper enough old
maid some day. Only, " with a laugh, " I cannot
quite imagine such a thing."

"No," said Mary, looking into Dorothy's eyes,
bright as the stars that were now being shut away by
the branches of the trees in the woods they were
entering; "no — nor I. But we'd best stop our
chattering and use our eyes and ears. Heavens !
what's that?" And she clutched Dot's arm in sud
den fright as a wild cry rang out directly over their
heads.

" Pooh ! " said Dorothy, with a laugh, " 't is but an

1 1 8 From Kingdom to Colony

old hoot-owl. If you 'd been in the woods as much
as I, you 'd not be frightened so easily."

They came to a halt at the edge of the timber
growth overlooking the rock peak above the Sachem's
Cave, and crouched among the bushes to watch for
the light, keeping a lookout as well upon the sea, for
the first signal from the ship.

And there they remained, listening to the incessant
crying of the insects in the grass and the rustling of
the wind in the trees overhead, these being mingled
with the never-ceasing sound of the sea, as the
breakers of the incoming tide flung themselves
against the boulders with a quavering roar that
seemed to pulse the air like great heart-throbs.

Presently Mary whispered, "Why not let us go
and stop beside Johnnie Strings?" Then quickly,
" Oh, I forgot — the way you are dressed would make
it imprudent."

" I should not care very much for Johnnie Strings,"
Dorothy began ; but Mary said hastily, —

" Oh, no> Dot, 't would never do."

A long silence ensued, broken at length by Mary
saying in a tone of alarm, " Oh, Dot, whatever would
we do, if your father went to speak to you for some
what, and should not find us in the house at this late
hour?"

" No fear of such a thing," was the confident reply.
" He has made sure long since that I am abed and
asleep."

It was half-past ten of the clock when the two girls
left the house ; and so they reckoned it must be now
several minutes after the next hour.

From Kingdom to Colony 119

" Suppose it should be far into the night before
the ship comes in sight," Mary suggested, for she
was beginning to feel cramped and uncomfortable.
"Let's not wait for so long a time as that."

" No, we will not," Dorothy assented with a yawn.
But the next moment she was all alive, with her
small fingers holding Mary's arm in a tight clutch
as she whispered excitedly: "Look, Mary — there it
is ! There was one light, and 't is gone. Now there
are the two ; and there comes the third, as Jack said."

The girls arose and stood erect in eager interest,
looking out over the water, where, several hundred
yards from shore, the lights gleamed and then dis
appeared. And now their eyes, accustomed to the
gloom, discerned a slim blackness, as of a man's form,
appear on the highest point of rocks above the cave ;
and then a soft glow of tremulous light illumined the
darkness.

While they watched this, they were startled to see
a taller figure spring from the shadows, and a second
later the two seemed to melt into one enlarged blur,
as if they were struggling.

Quick as thought the boyish form beside Mary
broke from the bushes and sped with flying steps
toward the peak.

"Dot — Dot — come back!" cried Mary, regard
less now of who might hear her. " Whatever are
you thinking to do? "

A low but clear reply came to her from over
Dorothy's shoulder.

"The lanterns — they must be put out, else Jack
may be hurt ! "

1 20 From Kingdom to Colony

On, on, she flew, with no fear of the peril into
which she might be rushing, — with no heed of her
unmaidenly garb. Her mind held but the one thought,
— that the lanterns must be extinguished, for danger
threatened her brother and his companions if they
should seek to land unwarned.

So absorbed were the men in their fierce wrestling
that neither of them saw nor heard the slight figure
that came straight up to them, and then, dashing
at the lanterns, sent them flying into the water
beneath.

Then the larger of the two, catching sight of the
intruder, relaxed his hold on the other ; and Johnnie
Strings, with a derisive whoop, twisted his wiry little
body from the slackened grip and sped down the
rocks and away into the night.

" You young rascal, what does all this mean ? '
demanded Southern, for he it was; and seizing the
boyish shoulder firmly, he shook the slender form.

Dorothy, although greatly overcome by agitation
now that her brave deed was accomplished, thought
she recognized the voice that addressed her so
roughly, and was silent from embarrassment.

" Are you dumb? " the Englishman asked angrily,
shaking her again. " Speak up, you young rebel,
or I may try what a salt-water bath will do for the
unlocking of your stubborn tongue."

"Stop shaking me, you great — brute," Dorothy
gasped indignantly. " Have you no — manners? "

At sound of the soft-toned voice, Southern seemed
to feel that he was dealing with no yokel, as he had
supposed; and now, peering closely, he saw that

From Kingdom to Colony 121

the head of his prisoner was finely shaped, and the
features refined and delicate.

" If you object to rough treatment, my young
friend," he said a little more gently, " you should not
put your nose into such doings as these." But he
still kept a firm hold of the arm and shoulder, as
though to stifle any idea of escape.

" I should say 't was you who deserved rough usage,
— coming onto my father's land at this hour, and
putting your nose into business that can in no wise
concern you." Dorothy had by this time fully recov
ered her composure, and being certain as to the com
pleteness of her disguise, spoke with saucy assurance.

" Your father's land ! " exclaimed the young man,
in evident surprise. " Pray, who is your father? "

" A gentleman who has no great taste for stranger
folk prowling about his estate." She gave her arm
and shoulder a slight twitch, as though to loosen
them from his hold. But this he would not have,
although his voice had a still milder sound as he
asked, " Is your name Devereux? "

" And whether it is or not," she answered, " pray
tell me what matters it to you? "

" It matters this to me," he said quickly : " that if
it is, then I '11 let you off, and will go on my way,
although I don't quite like the looks of the doings
I Ve seen on this rock, and out there on the water."

" By the Holy Poker ! " Dorothy exclaimed, bent
upon keeping up the part she had assumed. " But
you talk as if you were the Lord High Cockalorum
himself! Who are you, to say what you do and do
not like here, on my father's premises?"

122 From Kingdom to Colony

" Never mind who I am. Perhaps I can make
more trouble for your father and his household than
you are able to understand. But answer what I have
asked, and you '11 not be sorry."

Dorothy could not fail to note the earnestness with
which he spoke, nor the intent look she felt rather
than saw in the dim light. But she met all this with
a mocking air and tone as she said, " Since you make
it so worth my while to be kind to my neighbors,
how know you but I might see fit to tell you an un
truth, and say my name was Devereux, when it may
be Robinson, or anything else? "

" If this is your father's estate, then your name
must be Devereux," Southern asserted ; " for the
place is owned by one Joseph Devereux, as I have
been told. So there's an end to your telling me
anything misleading. And now answer me this, —
know you the one who is called Mistress Dorothy
Devereux?"

Dot waited a moment before answering. A new
scheme had sprung into her quick-witted brain, — one
that promised an effective means of getting rid of his
embarrassing presence, this being likely to interfere
seriously with the landing of the arms and powder,
were that still in contemplation.

She was wondering, too, what had become of
Mary Broughton, and what she was doing all this
time.

"Answer me," the young Britisher repeated sharply,
"do you know her?" And he gave a shake to the
arm he still held.

" You seem over-fond of shaking folk, sir," she

From Kingdom to Colony 123

remonstrated. " I wish you 'd let go my arm." And
she pulled it impatiently.

" I will let it go at once, if you '11 only tell me what
I wish to know."

"And what may that be?" she asked, with an
innocent sang-froid that plainly angered him.

" You are a saucy boy," he said impatiently. " You
remember well enough what I asked you. Do you
know Mistress Dorothy Devereux?"

" Aye," was the quick reply; " I know her as well
as you know your own face that you see in the glass
every day." She stood rubbing the arm he had now
released, and upon which his grip had been unpleas
antly firm.

" Ah — then she is your sister." He had moved
so as to stand directly in front of the slight figure,
whose head reached but half-way up his own broad
chest.

She looked at him for a second and then burst into
laughter.

" I know you now," she said. " You must be the
Britisher she told of this morning, — the one who
came here, and whom Mary Broughton frightened so
badly that he fell over and cut his head." And again
the mocking laugh came from her ready lips.

" I don't believe your sister told you any such
untruth," said the irritated young man. " I missed
my footing, and fell ; that was all. I meant no rude
ness, although the lady you name — Mary Broughton,
did you call her? — seemed not to believe me."

" Mary has but little taste for a redcoat," was the
dry retort.

1 24 From Kingdom to Colony

" And judging from your own tone, you share her
taste," he said, now quite good-naturedly, for he
found himself taking a strong liking to this bright,
free-speaking lad.

" I ? Oh, I don't know," was the careless answer.
" Do you not think I am somewhat too young to
have much of an opinion upon such matters?"

He smiled, but without replying. Then Dot came
closer to him and said in a low voice, " At any rate, I
am good-natured enough to say I can show you
something that you, being His Majesty's officer, had
best know about."

"What is it?" the young man asked. He was now
looking around for his hat, which, together with the
bandage about his head, had fallen off during his
struggle with the pedler.

Dorothy's sharp eyes were the first to catch sight
of these ; and she picked them up and handed them
to him, noting with an odd feeling that he placed the
bandage inside his coat and over his heart.

" It is something you may or may not care to see,"
she replied. " Only I '11 warrant you '11 be sorry if
another reports it first ; for I shall show it to the next
Britisher who comes this way."

" Very well," he said ; " let me see it."

Without further parley, and suspecting a nest of
concealed firearms, or something of the like, he fol
lowed her down the rocks, going with slow caution,
while she went more rapidly and soon stood below,
waiting for him. And then, side by side, they set off
inland.

Dorothy, skirting as closely as was prudent the

From Kingdom to Colony 125

woods where she reckoned Mary was still hiding, took
care to remark to her companion, in a voice loud
enough to reach her friend's ears, that it would not
take over ten minutes to reach their destination, and
that then he had best go his own way.

1 26 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER XIV

MARY BROUGHTON was where Dorothy sus
pected her to be; and standing well back
among the deeper shadows, she had been straining
her eyes to see all that took place on the rocky
platform above the cave.

She marvelled greatly at the lengthy converse
Dorothy seemed to be holding with the stranger,
after Johnnie Strings disappeared over the side of
the rocks in the direction of Riverhead Beach; and
she had started out of the wood, half determined to
go and meet the younger girl, when she saw her
leaving the peak.

A prudent afterthought led her to draw back again
when she saw the two forms swallowed up in the
deeper darkness lying at the base of the rocks. Then,
hearing steps coming toward her hiding-place, she
was on the point of calling out, when Dorothy's
words came to her ears, and she remained silent, but
still wondering what scheme her friend was pursuing,
and who was the stranger with whom she seemed to
be upon such excellent terms.

Then came the impulse that she had better find her
way to the Black Hole, and tell the waiting party of
what had happened ; and acting upon this, she set
out at once.

She had not gone very far when there came to her
the sound of tramping feet ; and hastening to get out

From Kingdom to Colony 1 27

of the more open part of the wood, she drew aside
amongst the denser growth.

She now heard a low-pitched voice singing a snatch
of an old song, trolling it off in a rollicking fashion
that bespoke the youth of the singer, —

" We hunters who follow the chase, the chase,
Ride ever with care a race, a race.
We care not, we reck not — "

Here the song was silenced by another voice which
Mary recognized as that of Doak, an old fisherman,
who growled : " Belay that 'ere pipin', Bait. Hev ye
no sense, thet ye risk callin' down the reg'lars on us
with such a roarin' ? "

They were now quite near ; and slipping out of the
bushes, Mary called out, " Doak, is that you ? "

"Who be it? " he demanded quickly, while all the
other men came to a halt.

" It is I — Mary Broughton. Don't stop to ques
tion me, but listen to what I have to tell you."

She told them in the briefest possible way of what
had happened. And in doing this, she deemed it
wiser to tell them of Dorothy's disguise, being fearful
of what might befall the girl should the men chance
to meet her, — more especially as they would now be
on the lookout for the stranger, who was doubtless
an ill wisher to their scheme.

Doak chuckled mightily over it all, particularly at
Mary's description of Dorothy kicking the lanterns
off the rock; and several of the other men gave
hoarse utterance to their admiration.

" Ev'ry natur' be fitted for its own app'inted work,"

iz8 From Kingdom to Colony

remarked old Doak, dogmatically. " If Mistress
Dorothy had not allers been darin', by the natur' o'
things, she 'd never a ketched holt o' the right rope so
true an' quick as she hev this night, — God bless her ! "

Here a younger voice broke in impatiently with,
" But, Doak, we ought n't to stand here chatterin' like
this."

" True, true, Tommy Harris," the old man replied
good-naturedly. " But," turning to Mary, " what
shall ye do, Mistress Mary? Hed n't ye best let
one o' the boys tek ye to the house? Ye see we be
goin' down to the shore to Master John an' the rest
of 'em, as was 'greed we should as soon as we saw
the ' Pearl ' show her light."

Mary said she preferred to go with them. But the
old man shook his head, and his companions began
to move onward.

"D'ye think 'twould be wise, mistress?" he asked
gravely. " Ye see we don't know jest what sort o'
work we may find cut out for us, — 'specially if the
man ye saw throttlin' Johnnie Strings were a British
spy, as belike he were, pretty sure." Then he added
impatiently, " I wonder where in tarnation Johnnie
hev gone to, thet he did n't cut back to tell us? "

" And I am wondering where Dorothy has gone,"
said Mary, with much anxiety.

" I rather guess ye need hev no fear for her, mis
tress," Doak made haste to reply. " She be wide
awake, I '11 bet my head, where'er she be."

" But it seems so strange a thing that she should
go off in such fashion," Mary said, by no means
satisfied with the old man's confident words.

From Kingdom to Colony 129

" She went 'cause she wanted to go ; an' she wanted
to go 'cause she saw work cut out to do, I warrant
ye," declared Doak, with whom the girl had always
been a great favorite, since the days he used to take
her and Mary Broughton on fishing excursions in his
boat. " But as to ye, mistress — "

" It is this way, Doak," she said, interrupting him :
"you see I cannot get into the house until I find
Dorothy ; for she has the key of the only door by
which I could enter, except I disturbed every one."

" If ye did thet, Mistress Mary, the father would
find out all 'bout the prankin', eh? " And he
chuckled knowingly.

" And so 't is best," she went on, paying no atten
tion to him, " that I go along with you until we can
see Master John ; and he will know what to do."

" Very well, Mistress Mary," Doak said ; " come
'long o' me, an' 'twill go hard with any man as seeks
to molest ye, — though, from what Johnnie Strings
told me o' what ye did to the spyin' Britisher
this mornin' — "

Here he stopped short, both in speech and walk
ing, — for they had been hurrying to overtake the
others, now well in advance — and slapping his thigh,
exclaimed : " I hev it, I hev it ! What a blind old
fool I be, not to hev thought o' thet afore ! 'T were
sure to be the same devil, or some one he sent, thet
ye saw fightin' with Johnnie Strings."

"Do you think so?" asked Mary, surprised that
the thought had not occurred to her before. " What
ever should make him come back there at this hour
of the night?"

9

I 30 From Kingdom to Colony

" Spyin', mistress, spyin', as 't is the only business
he an' his soldiers be sent down to do hereabouts.
Who can say how many of 'em be lyin' 'round this
minute, to jump on us?"

Mary glanced about apprehensively, and moved a
little closer to the sturdy fisherman's side.

They were now out of the woods, and could dis
cern vaguely in the open field before them the
dark forms grouped near the shore, awaiting some
signal or sign that might bespeak the expected
boats.

Mary and Doak joined the others, and they all
stood in silence, watching the black water, now
streaked with a narrow bar of sullen red from the
eastern sky, where, out of a wild-looking cloud-bank,
the moon was just lifting a full, clear disk.

"Can ye see aught?" muttered one stalwart fellow
to his nearest neighbor, — the two standing near Mary
and old Doak.

" Not I," was the low reply. " Mayhap they won't
come at all now, since seein' the lanterns go out."

"Whate'er be ye thinkin' on?" chimed in Doak.
" Cap'n Brattle hev brought the stuff down, fast
'nough ; an' he won't be for carryin' it over to Salem,
under the Gov'nor's nose. 'T is to be brought here ;
an' here, an' nowhere else, hev they got to land it.
They '11 only be more on the lookout now — thet's
all. They know us to be here, an' all they hev to do
be to get to us. An* get to us they will, 'though the
meadow be grass-grown with redcoats, an' the King
hisself 'mongst 'em,"

" D n the King and all his redcoats ! " came

From Kingdom to Colony 131

hoarsely from another man; and then the talk was
stopped by a faint sound from the water.

Doak commanded the men to keep perfectly silent,
for only the keenest alertness could catch what the
wind now brought to them. It was the faintest
imaginable noise of working oars; and it sent a
shudder, like a great sigh, through the waiting
group.

Mary Broughton felt her pulses thrill as the sound
became more distinct; and she glanced nervously
about, and back of her, — at the dark woods on the
one hand, the frowning rock-piles on the other, and
at the sweep of clear meadows in the rear.

" Draw aside, Mistress Mary, do ye now, please,"
Doak urged, laying his hand upon her arm. " Get
over there close by the rocks. For if so be there
comes any surprise from the Britishers, 'twill surely
be from the back of us, here ; an' in such case ye '11
be safe an' clear from 'em, or from flyin' bullets, if ye
get behind the rocks."

She felt the wisdom of this advice, and silently
complied, while he went forward to the men, now
drawn down close to the water's edge.

The next moment he sent a likely-to-be-under
stood signal out over the water. It was the curlew's
cry, which he imitated perfectly ; and while it rang
out softly, it was clear and penetrating.

There was a second of silence, save for the wind,
and the rippling of the waves upon the shingle ; then
came a like cry from out the darkness, and seeming
nearer than had the sound of the oars.

" Now, then, lads, face 'bout, an' watch afore ye ! "

132 From Kingdom to Colony

Doak commanded, his voice now strong with excite
ment; and pushing through them until he reached
the very edge of the water, he sent back another call,
— loud, clear, and fearless in its sound.

The other men, with faces turned inland, stood with
listening ears and keen eyes, each gripping his gun,
ready to repel the onslaught of any lurking enemy
that might be awaiting a favorable moment to swoop
down upon them.

Following close upon Doak's second call there
came the unmistakable sound of rapidly working
oars. Then a sizable lump of dark shadow showed,
speeding toward the beach, and soon defining its
shape into that of a large rowboat.

Crouched closely against the rocks, and listening
with checked breathing, Mary Broughton almost
cried aloud as a step startled her. Then looking
intently at the form drawing near, she recognized
it, and said quickly, with a deep sigh of relief,
" Oh, Dorothy ! "

" Yes, Mary — is that you ? " The speaker came
closer and asked eagerly, " Are those our own men
down there on the shore, and was it the boat they
were signalling with the curlew's cry? "

" Yes, and the boat is nigh in. But whatever have
you been up to, Dot, and who was the man you went
off with, and where is he now? "

To this fusillade of questions Dorothy only replied
with a laugh. Then she asked in turn, " Where is
Johnnie Strings ? " ,

" No one knows," Mary answered. " 'T is old
Doak down there with the men." And she added

From Kingdom to Colony 133

with a little impatience, " But why don't you tell me,
Dot — what has become of that man? "

Dorothy laughed once more. " I have been lock
ing him away, out of mischief; and now he 's as safe as
if he had stopped where he belonged, instead of com
ing to prowl about here at this hour of the night. It
was the Britisher, Mary, — the same one who gave us
such a turn this morning. He mistook me for my
own brother, and I improved the chance to lead him
away by the nose."

" But how? " Mary asked in astonishment. " What
do you mean by all this, and what have you done
with him?"

" I made him think that I could show him some
what of importance to his cause ; and so I lured him
up into father's new cattle-shed, in the ten-acre lot,
and I bolted him in there safely enough, unless he
should manage to break the bar that holds the door.
I could not lock it, for Trent has the key; but I
should think the bar was strong enough to hold the
door — at least until the arms be safely landed and
stowed away."

" Then he was all alone? " Mary inquired, still too
full of anxiety to make any present comment upon
Dot's exploit.

" Yes, all alone."

" What did he say to you ? " -

" Say ! " Dorothy exclaimed with a little laugh.
" Oh, he said a good many things. He spoke most
glibly of Mistress Dorothy Devereux; and he told
me that if I 'd say my name was the same as hers,
he 'd go away, and not inspect more closely the

134 From Kingdom to Colony

goings on he had overseen, and which he admitted
were not to his liking."

" Dot ! " And Mary's tone was distinctly re
proachful.

" Well," almost defiantly, " he did say all that, and
more too."

"But," asked Mary, "did he not find you out —
that you were a girl masquerading in boy's apparel? "

" Not he," with another laugh. " And I trust he
never will, after the hoydenish manner of speech I
thought it best to use in keeping up my character.
He took me for a young brother of Mistress Dorothy
Devereux, I tell you."

" Yes," Mary said musingly, as if to herself, " and
I pray no harm may come of it."

" Harm ! " Dorothy exclaimed, quick in her own
justification. "What harm can come of it? I take
it as a most lucky thing that I was able to get him
out of the way. Had I not done so, then you might
have had something to say about harm."

" He would have been taken prisoner by our men,
had he stayed about here," Mary asserted con
fidently, " and would have been shot, had he made
any disturbance. And that would have been just
what he deserved." Her usually gentle voice sounded
unnaturally hard.

" Oh, Mary," her friend cried, regardless of who
might be within hearing, " how can you speak so
harshly — and he such a handsome young gallant? "

" What is it to us, whether he be handsome ox ill-
favored ? " was Mary's sharp retort. " What interest
have you in him?"

From Kingdom to Colony 135

" I should be sorry if he were hurt." And
Dorothy's tone was almost tender by comparison
with that of her companion.

"Shame on you, Dot ! " Mary said in a low voice,
but quite fiercely. " How can you talk so, and he
a hateful Britisher? "

But before Dorothy could reply, the sound of a
boat's keel grating on the sand turned their thoughts
to different matters.

" They are in ! " exclaimed Dot, exultantly. " And
safe!"

"Aye — safe so far," Mary murmured. She was
still uncomfortable, and suspicious of some danger
lurking in the darkness about them.

136 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER XV

' I AHE men were gathered around the boat, shut-
•*• ting it away from the two girls; and the
moon's light, now grown silvery, was touching the
group in a way to make all their movements visible.

" Mary," said Dorothy, " do you go to the beach
and ask Jack to come here to me. I must tell him
somewhat ; and then let us go to the house." And
Mary, nothing loath, complied at once.

A few of the men were rapidly removing the arms
and powder, which were well wrapped in oilskins;
and two sailors from the " Pearl " were waiting, ready
to pull out again the instant the cargo was landed.

Another boat, similarly laden, was approaching
the beach ; and near it, in a dory by himself, was the
missing pedler.

Upon escaping from Southern, he had betaken
himself to the causeway, dragged one of the Deve-
reux dories across from Riverhead Beach to the open
sea on the other side, and then set out to find the
incoming boats and report the recent occurrence.

This he had done successfully; and John Deve-
reux, now standing among the men and conversing
with Doak, knew nearly all there was to be told,
while Hugh Knollys was coming in with the second
boatload.

So intent was the young man upon what was going
on about him that he did not see Mary until she had

From Kingdom to Colony 137

spoken to him; but at sound of her low voice he
turned quickly and came toward her.

There was sufficient light for her to see the eager
gladness in his face as he stood before her, his broad-
brimmed hat in his hand, and the curling locks blow
ing riotously about his brows.

" Mary," was all he said ; but his voice was filled
with something she had never heard there before.

" Dorothy wishes to speak with you at once," she
replied, the faint light giving her courage to keep her
eyes upraised to his, for his voice and manner made
her heart tremulous.

He drew her hand within his arm, and as they
turned away from the shore his other hand stole up
and clasped the small soft fingers that rested so
lightly upon his sleeve ; and he felt them tremble as
his own closed more tightly about them.

"Mary," he said once more, and she lifted her face
to meet the eyes she felt were bent upon it.

His face was shadowed by his hat-brim; but she
could feel his heart beating against the arm he
pressed closely to his side, and she could hear how
hard and fast he was breathing.

Making no answer, she only looked at him, until
without a word he bent his head and kissed her.

" Why, John ! " and her voice was well-nigh choked
by mingled embarrassment and joy. " Dorothy will
see you."

" Aye," he said stoutly ; " and I hope she may,
and all else in the world see me doing a like thing
many times."

They had now come to a halt, and he said impetu-

138 From Kingdom to Colony

ously: " I cannot wait another minute, sweetheart, to
tell you that I love you; only you surely knew it
long ago. But what I do not know, and must know
at once, is whether my love is returned."

Her only answer was, "Dorothy is near, — just
behind these rocks ; come and speak to her first"

" Not one step will I go until you tell me what I
ask," he declared firmly. " I have spoken to your
father; and I have his consent and blessing, if you
will listen to me. So," pleadingly, "tell me, Mary —
sweetheart; tell me, do you love me well enough to
be my wife?"

A softly breathed " Yes " stole to his ears as Mary
bent her head down on his arm. But he raised the
glowing face in his hands, and looked a long moment
at what he saw revealed by the faint light of the
stars.

Then, with a fervent " Thank God ! " he bent once
more, and laid his lips on hers ; and without another
word they passed quickly over the few yards to the
rock-pile, where a boyish figure stood whistling.

John Devereux started back and exclaimed, " Where
is Dorothy? I thought she was here."

" I am here, Jack, awaiting your pleasure," a saucy
voice replied; and Mary felt her cheeks burn, for
something in Dorothy's tone told her that her own
precious secret was known.

" Dorothy, what is the meaning of all this?" her
brother asked, giving her the full name, and trying
to speak with severity. All that Johnnie Strings had
told him was of a boy tossing the lanterns over the
rocks, as indeed the pedler supposed to be the fact.

From Kingdom to Colony 139

" See here, Jack," she said earnestly, " don't scold
me now. You can do it just as well to-morrow, and
Mary and I wish to get to the house. But before I
go I must tell you there is a certain gentleman
locked in the new shed, in the ten-acre lot; and
when the powder and arms are safe, you had best get
him out."

"Who put him there? " he asked in amazement.

" I did," was the answer.

"You, Dot — what for?"

" To keep him from finding out what you had
rather he did not know. Only you must promise not
to let him be hurt, and that you will release him as
soon as you unfasten the door."

"Who is he — do you know?" And he did not
speak so good-naturedly as his sister would have
liked.

" He is a redcoat, — one of the soldiers quartered
over on the Neck," said Mary Broughton, now speak
ing for the first time. " He came upon Dot and me
at the Sachem's Cave this morning, and he has been
prowling about the place to-night. 'Twas he who
surprised Johnnie Strings, and caused Dot to put out
the signal-lights."

Mary spoke with animation, almost anger, for she
felt a bit indignant at Dorothy's apparent lack of what
she herself considered to be a proper view of the affair.

" Aha," muttered her lover, his voice full of sharp
suspicion. " Did this man hold much converse with
you this morning, Mary?"

"No, very little," she replied uneasily; and Dor
othy added with a laugh, —

140 From Kingdom to Colony

"I fancy he had a bit more than he enjoyed."

" Johnnie Strings told me of your frightening a
Britisher so that he nearly tumbled into the sea,"
John said, speaking in an approving way. " And so
this is the same fellow, is he? But how comes it,
Dot, that you found the chance to lock him away?"

" 'T is a long story," his sister replied, with a touch
of petulance, " and Mary and I must get back to the
house. Only," — and her voice softened again —
" won't you promise me, Jack, that you will not per
mit him to be injured? I could never sleep again
if I thought I was the cause of any ill befalling
him."

She was almost in tears; and knowing this, her
brother hastened to say, " There, there, Dot ! You 've
too tender a heart, child. But your mind may rest
easy, for I myself will let the man out as soon as 't is
prudent to do so. He shall go his way for this once,
but I '11 not promise as to what may befall should he
see fit to repeat such a bit of business."

The moon was rising higher, and its light becoming
clearer and more silvery. The boats were unloaded,
and the sailors were pulling them back to the ship,
when the girls saw Hugh Knollys coming toward
them from the beach ; and at sight of him they turned
to flee.

"I must go to the house with you two, Mary; "
and John Devereux laid a detaining hand upon her
arm, bidding Dorothy wait a moment.

" No need for that," she said quickly, fearing that
Hugh might accompany them; "we are not afraid."

But John called out to Knollys, — speaking very

From Kingdom to Colony 141

carefully, for it still seemed as though each rock or
bush might be concealing a spying enemy — asking
him to go to the Black Hole in charge of the men,
as he himself must first hurry to the house, to rejoin
them later.

Hugh turned back, and the three took their way
through the woods, Dorothy keeping ahead and the
others walking closely together just behind her.

" Mary," John said presently, and his voice was
tremulous as a woman's, "I can scarcely believe it."

" Hush ! " she whispered warningly.

But pressing her hand, he said, " Dot knows all
about it." And he laughed softly, while Mary's
cheeks burned, and she was silent.

Then he added : " You see, I have been under such
a strain, so filled with anxious thoughts, that I well-
nigh lost my senses when I landed on the beach,
and knew you were near me, and heard your voice.
Then, afterwards, I was so shocked by Dot's prank
when I came upon her by the rocks, that it is just
coming to me what the child has done. It was a
brave deed ; and but for her doing it, who can say
what might have happened — brave little girl ! "

The slight figure was too far ahead of their lagging
footsteps to be reached by his words. Indeed they
could not see her at all through the gloom of the
woods, although they could hear now and again her
light footfall, or the cracking of a twig as she stepped
upon it.

" She thinks you are displeased with her prank,"
Mary said, " and I 'm sure she feels very unhappy
about it."

142 From Kingdom to Colony

" She shall not feel so very long," he replied
heartily.

They found her waiting for them at the back door
of the house, ready to put the key into the lock.
But before she could do this her brother put his
arms about her and kissed her fondly.

" Brave little girl ! " he whispered. " 'T is you who
have saved the arms and powder for the town."

To his amazement she burst into tears and clung
to him, sobbing and trembling like a child.

"Why, Dot, whatever is it?" he asked anxiously,
lowering his voice so as not to arouse the inmates of
the house.

" She is suffering from a reaction, I think," Mary
said softly ; " but it will soon pass away."

But Dorothy was of too dauntless a spirit for her
brother to be content with this explanation; and
holding her close in his arms, he went on assuring her
that he was not displeased, but that she had done a
brave act, and that every one would say the same if
the news of it should get abroad.

" You must hush your sobs," he said, " and go
within, and to bed, where you should have been hours
ago. I will find Hugh Knollys, and we'll go to
gether and release your prisoner."

All this, whispered in her ear while her face was
buried over his heart, quie.ted her at last; and she
drew herself away from him as she said with a hys
terical little laugh, " Think of the picture I am
making for Mary, — a big boy crying in your
arms ! "

" You should have been a boy, Dot," he whispered,

From Kingdom to Colony 143

while she was opening the door ; " you Ve a heart
brave enough to do credit to any man."

" And, pray, may not women lay claim to having
brave hearts ? " queried Mary Broughton, with, dig
nified coquetry. . •

" Aye, most truly ; I should say you and Dot had
proved that already. And now, good-night, sweet
heart." And to Mary's consternation, he leaned over
and kissed her, hurrying away as she hastily followed
Dorothy into the house.

No word was spoken as the two girls felt their way
cautiously through the pitchy darkness to their rooms
above stairs.

The two apartments communicated ; and the front
windows of each overlooked the meadow lands and
woods, together with a far-reaching expanse of the
sea.

Aunt Penine's, as well as Aunt Lettice's and little
'Bitha's, rooms were in the wing of the house, on the
opposite side ; while those of Joseph Devereux were
far to the front, and looked out directly upon the
grounds and wooded land that ran down to the beach,
where the water stretched away to the horizon.

They went directly to Dorothy's chamber ; and it
was so bright with the moonlight now pouring
through the unshuttered windows that they needed
no candle.

As soon as the door was closed, Mary said,
" Dorothy, I have somewhat to tell you." And she
put her arms lovingly about the boyish form, while
the solemn tenderness of her tone bespoke what she
had to reveal.

144 From Kingdom to Colony

" You Ve no need to tell," replied Dorothy,
speaking in a way to so disconcert Mary that she
said uneasily, —

" Oh, Dot, I thought you 'd be glad it was so."

At this, Dorothy threw her arms impulsively
around the other girl's neck.

" I am glad, Mary," she exclaimed ; " I am very,
very glad. Only, I knew long ago that you and Jack
loved one another." Then, as she hugged her
closer, " But you won't love me less for what has
befallen?"

Her voice sounded as though the tears were
coming again.

Mary tightened her hold upon the slight form, and
kissed the upturned face upon which the moonbeams
were resting.

"Love you less, Dot?" she declared; "it only
makes me love you far more than before; and I
have always loved you very dearly, as you well
know."

" And I want to be loved, Mary ! I feel so lonely ! "
And now she was crying once more.

" Why, Dot," Mary asked, almost in alarm, " what
ever ails you, crying twice in the one evening? I
scarce know what to think of you."

" I wish I could see my father," Dorothy sobbed ;
" I wish I could see him this minute. He always
knows me and understands me, no matter what I do
or say."

" You are just worn out, poor child," said Mary,
in a soothing, motherly fashion ; " and no wonder,
with all you 've gone through this night And now,"

From Kingdom to Colony 145

she added with decision, " I shall put you straight to
bed, this very minute. I want to go myself, but can
not until you become quiet."

With this she began tugging at the fastenings of
the unfamiliar garments; and Dorothy, despite her
tears, commenced to laugh, but in a nervous, un
natural way.

" Never mind," she said ; " I will do all that, Mary,
for I understand it better than you. And," straighten
ing herself, " I '11 stop crying. I never knew I could
be such a fool."

Long after Mary was sleeping, Dorothy was still
lying awake listening for her brother's return. She
knew she would hear him, for his room was just
across the hall, opposite her own.

As she nestled among the lavender-scented pillows,
visions would keep coming to her of the handsome
face she had seen that morning, and again that very
night. The purple-hued eyes, edged so thickly with
swart curling lashes, seemed to be looking into her
own, as when she held his wounded head pillowed
against her knee, while his voice yet thrilled in her
ears as had never any man's before.

And then came the realization that this man was
her country's avowed enemy, — a hated Britisher !

Her conscience smote her as she thought of the
trick she had played him, recalling how trustingly he
had entered the dark shed, and how silent he had
been at first, when she slammed the door and shot
the wooden bar across. Then how fiercely he had
seemed to fling his broad shoulders against the door
of his prison, making her fear that he would be able

146 From Kingdom to Colony

to come forth and visit his wrath upon the auda
cious young rebel who had served him such a
trick.

But she could find some comfort in thinking of
how she had stolen back, and called him by name,
at which the blows became stilled ; and of how she
had then told him to have no fear for his safety, as
in a short time he would be released, to go where
he pleased.

Mary, did she but know all these thoughts, would
be angry, and call her unfaithful to the cause. And
Jack, and her father — what would her father say to
her?

She had never in her life feared him. But now a
quaking dread beset her as to what the morrow
might bring from him of censure and displeasure.
And at this she began to cry again — softly, but
bitterly.

Whether the girl knew it or not, her nerves had
by this time become strained to the uttermost; and
sleep, the blessed healer that comes so readily to
the young and healthful, was beginning to woo her
away from all her troubles, when a slight noise
startled her into new wakefulness.

Listening intently, she heard her brother enter his
room; and she heard him say something to their
father, who was passing on toward his own apart
ments.

Rising hastily, Dorothy thrust her little bare feet
into some wool slippers and drew a bed-gown over
her night-dress; then she stole softly across the
passage to her brother's room.

From Kingdom to Colony 147

The door was ajar; and after tapping gently, she
put up her small hands to shield her eyes from the
glare of the candle he held, as he came to answer
her summons, looking wonderingly out to see who it
might be.

" Dorothy ! " he exclaimed, as he saw the little
yellow-robed figure, and the rumpled curls and
drooping face. Then, stretching out his hand, he
drew her within the room and closed the door.

" Dot, why are you not asleep at this hour? You
will surely make yourself ill." He crossed over to
a small table and set down the heavy silver candle
stick, the light flaring in his weary, but always
handsome face, now looking all the darker from
contrast with his snowy linen — for he was in his
shirt-sleeves.

He came to her once more ; and as she did not
speak, he took her hands from before her face and
held them lovingly. " What is it, child — what is
troubling you?"

" Mary has told me, Jack, and I wanted to tell you
that I am glad." And two great tears stole from her
long lashes and ran down the rounded cheeks, whose
bloom was paler than he had ever seen it.

" And is that the face you wear, Dot, when you
are joyful ? " he asked gently, but with a smile.
" What is it, child ? " he urged, as she did not speak.
" I am so happy to-night, and I cannot bear to see
you in tears ; it hurts me."

" Ah, no, Jack," she cried, throwing her arms
around his neck. " I don't want to hurt you."

He held her fast, and laid his cheek against her

148 From Kingdom to Colony

own, as he said softly : " Is it that you are jealous of
me, or of — Mary? Is it that you think I cannot
love her and love you as well?"

" No, no ! Oh, no ! It is n't that, Jack. I know
you love me, and will always, as long as I live —
just as I love you. I am happy to have Mary for
my own sister ; but I — I — " And she broke down
again.

" Now see here, little girl," he said, stroking the
round white arm her fallen-back sleeve left bare;
" don't fret in your heart about to-night, or whatever
you may have done. It is never any use to worry
over what is past and gone. 'T is not a maidenly
act, Dot, for a girl to array herself in men's gar
ments, and you must never do it again. But we
must all admit that 't was a lucky thing you did it
this night; and the help you rendered us far more
than makes up for your own thoughtlessness. So
you need fear no blame on account of it."

" Does father know ? " she asked nervously.

" Not as yet ; but I will tell him the whole story of
your bravery, so he '11 not misjudge you."

She raised her face and kissed him ; then after a
little hesitation she asked shyly, " And the Britisher
I locked in the shed, — did you release him, as you
said you would?"

Jack smiled down into the upturned face. " He
was gone when Hugh and I got there ; and the bar
was wrenched off, sockets and all."

" He is strong," Dorothy said, a light coming to
her eyes that her brother did not see; and she
laughed softly.

From Kingdom to Colony 149

" Well, had he the strength of Samson, he 'd
best take heed to himself how he comes prowling
about my father's premises at unseemly hours."

He spoke with angry emphasis ; and Dorothy was
glad the two had not met.

150 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER XVI

THE men of the house breakfasted at the usual
hour next morning, and with them were only
Aunt Lettice and 'Bitha, Mary Broughton and Doro
thy being permitted to sleep until later, when 'Bitha,
despatched by her grandmother, went to arouse them.

She first awoke Dorothy by kissing her ; then she
asked with childish solicitude, " Why do you lie abed
so late, Cousin Dot, — are you ill?"

The big dark eyes gazed at the child in bewilder
ment, and then came a flash of recollection.

" 111 — no. Where is Mary, and why are you here,
'Bitha?"

" Mary is still asleep, and grandame sent me to
wake both of you." Then she looked curiously at
the carelessly heaped up masculine garb on a near
by chair, and asked, "Are those Cousin Jack's
clothes, Dot, and why did he leave them here?"

Dorothy's color deepened. " Never mind, now,
'Bitha," she said hastily, " but go and awaken Mary ;
then run back to Aunt Lettice, and say we will be
down directly. But stop — where is every one —
have you breakfasted yet ? "

The child laughed. " Long ago," she said.
" Cousin Jack and Hugh Knollys have gone off to
town on horseback, and Uncle Joseph is away on the
farm somewhere."

From Kingdom to Colony 151

Dorothy's movements were lacking in their usual
youthful vitality as she moved listlessly about the
room. She stood in front of her mahogany dressing-
case, looking into the tipped-over mirror, — that
only in this way could reflect the face and head sur
mounting her in no wise average height — and was
brushing out the tangle of curly locks, when Mary
Broughton came into the room, her hair hanging about
her like a veil of gold, reaching almost to her knees.

" Good-morning, Dot," she said smilingly. " You
were so quiet that I thought you were yet sleeping."
And she turned to go back to her own apartment.

But Dorothy called out: "Don't go yet! Oh!
Mary, do you know I am dreading so to go down
stairs and meet my father. I wonder if he will be
angry at what I did last night? He was never angry
with me in all my life." And she turned her troubled
eyes away from the glass, for which indeed she seemed
to have little use, so slight was the note she was tak
ing of the reflection it showed.

"I hope not," Mary replied, but her voice had a
touch of doubt, " for he would surely be angry with
me as well, for abetting you in what you did. But
you remember what Jack said last night; would not
your father take the same view of the matter? "

The color deepened in her cheeks as she spoke her
lover's name ; and this seemed to bring a new recol
lection to Dorothy.

" Oh, Mary," she cried, " I 'd clean forgot, for the
moment, all that has befallen." With this she rushed
impetuously across the room and caught Mary about
the neck. The latter blushed redder than before,

152 From Kingdom to Colony

while she laughingly disengaged Dorothy's arms.
Then urging her to hurry and dress, she hastened
back to her own room.

The two girls had finished breakfast and were out
on the porch in front of the house, when the hearty
tones of Joseph Devereux were heard within, asking
Tamson, the red-cheeked housemaid, after her young
mistress.

" Here I am, father," answered a low, agitated
voice ; and Dorothy stood before him, looking quite
pale, and with eyes downcast.

" Come with me, my daughter," he commanded,
and led the way into the library.

He closed the door after them, and seated himself,
while Dorothy remained standing, her hands loosely
clasped and her eyes still bent on the floor, her
attitude being much like that of a culprit before a
judge.

" Come here, child," and his voice was a trifle un
steady. " Why do you stand there and look so
strangely? "

For answer, she sank upon her knees before him
and laid her face in his lap ; and a grateful thrill went
through her as she felt his fingers stroking her curly
head in his usual loving fashion.

" Ye madcap ! " he exclaimed after a short silence.
" Whatever possessed ye?"

" Oh, father, don't be angry with me ! "

At this, he leaned over, and drawing her into his
arms, lifted her to his knee.

" Angry with you, my little Dot ! " he said. " My
precious, brave little girl, how could I be that, except

From Kingdom to Colony 153

it were for your risking so carelessly the life that is
so dear to my old heart? "

All the sternness of his face had given place to an
expression of loving pride.

" One cannot censure an eagle, my baby," he went
on, — " that it be not born a barnyard fowl or a weak
pigeon. It would seem that a higher power than of
poor mortality must have put it into your head and
heart to do what you did last night. And I 've no
word of blame for your having togged yourself out in
Jack's clothes. Many a heroine has done a like thing
before you. If Joan of Arc had been more like most
womenfolk, no doubt many would have reckoned her
more properly behaved, according to the laws laid
down by men for the behavior o' women. But who
dare question the bravery and unselfishness of her
deeds? And you, my baby, were our Joan of Arc
last night!"

All this was balm to her troubled heart. But she
could not speak, and only hugged him more tightly
around the neck as she wept on his shoulder.

" Here — hoity toity ! " he said presently. " What
manner o' bravery be this — crying for naught? "

She raised her head, but before she could reply,
they were both startled by a noisy trampling of horses
in front of the house, and strange voices coming in
through the open windows.

Hastily wiping away her tears, Dorothy sprang
from her father's lap and ran to look out.

" Oh, father," she cried, turning to him in dismay,
"here be a lot of British soldiers on horseback!
Whatever can they have come for? "

154 From Kingdom to Colony

He hurried out, Dorothy close by his side, to meet
face to face at the open door a tall young officer com
ing up the steps with much clanking of sabre and
jingling of spurs, while on the driveway were a
dozen mounted troopers, one of whom held the rein
of a spirited gray horse.

The officer raised his hat, and his sea-blue eyes,
keen as steel, looked with smiling fearlessness straight
into the lowering face of Joseph Devereux. Then
they changed like a flash, and with swift significance,
as they fell upon the slight figure shrinking close
beside him.

" Sir," he asked, " are you Joseph Devereux? "

" As you say," was the calm reply. " And what
might an officer of His Majesty's army want with me ? "

" Only an audience," the young man answered
respectfully. " I wish to assure you, in case of its
being needful, of my good will, and of my desire to
see that your person and property are guarded from
annoyance during our stay in your neighborhood."

The old man frowned, and drew his tall figure to
its full height.

" It would seem a strange chance," he replied
haughtily, " that should put such a notion into your
mind, young sir. I 've lived here as boy and man
these seventy years and more, and my fathers before
me for well beyond one hundred years ; and I Ve
needed no protection o' my own rights save such as
God and my own townsfolk have accorded me as my
just due."

" Such may have been the case before now, sir,"
the officer said, his eyes still fixed upon Dorothy's

From Kingdom to Colony 155

blushing face; " but troublesome times, such as
these, have brought changes that should, methinks,
make you take a somewhat different view of matters."

"The times may be troublesome, as you say; but
even should they grow more so, I have my country's
cause too truly at heart to desire favors from its
enemies."

" I am an enemy only should you determine to
make me one ; and this I trust you will not." He
still smiled pleasantly, as though bent upon accom
plishing whatever object he had in view.

" The color o' the coat you wear has determined
that matter already," was Joseph Devereux's grim
answer.

But the young man was proof against even this
pointed rebuff, for he laughed, and said with reckless
gayety, " Think you not, sir, 't is a bit unjust to refuse
good fellowship to a man because of the color of his
garb?"

" A truce to this nonsense, young sir ! " exclaimed
the old man, his impatience rapidly changing to
anger. " Since you are about my premises in the
manner you are, 't is certain you can in no wise be
ignorant o' reasons existing which make it needless
for me to say that I desire naught to do with you,
nor your fellows."

The officer bowed, and with a slight shrug of his
broad shoulders, resumed his hat.

" So be it, sir," he said, while the smile left his
olive-hued face, " although I deeply regret your
decision. But before I go, I must have speech with
a young son of yours."

156 From Kingdom to Colony

Dorothy moved still closer to her father, and turned
a troubled look up into his face.

" My son, sir," he answered stiffly, " is not at home."

" No ? Then pray tell me where I am like to find
him."

" He has gone to the town on affairs of his own."

" They are like to be affairs of great weight." The
young man's voice had a note of sarcasm.

" Whatever they be, they can assuredly be no
concern of an officer o' the King."

" That is for me to decide, sir," the soldier retorted
with evidently rising anger. " He has done that
which gives me good cause to put him in irons,
should I choose to be vengeful."

"What mean ye?" the old man demanded with
flashing eyes.

" I mean," replied the other, slowly, " he shall be
taught that he cannot play boyish pranks upon His
Majesty's officers with impunity."

" It would seem you are better aware o' what you
are prating of than am I," said Joseph Devereux, now
laying a reassuring hand over the small one that had
stolen tremblingly into his own. " As for my son
playing ' boyish pranks,' as you say, he would
scarcely be likely to turn back to such things in his
twenty-eighth year."

" Do you mean me to understand that your son
is so old as that? " was the officer's surprised inquiry.

" I care little of what your understanding may be,"
was the indifferent reply ; " but such is the fact."

"And have you no other son — a young boy?"

" I have not, as any one can tell you."

From Kingdom to Colony 1 57

The young man -bit his lips, and looked perplexed.
Then, as his eyes turned to Dorothy's flushed face, he
smiled again, and said, as though addressing her, " I
beg pardon for any seeming incivility; but there
would appear to be some mystery here."

" No mystery, young man," answered Joseph
Devereux, with unbending severity, " save to wonder
why you should come riding to our door in the fash
ion you have, with a troop o' your fellows, when we
have no liking for the entertainment of any such
company."

The officer still smiled, but now sarcastically. " It
can scarcely be claimed that you have entertained
me, sir. But since I find my presence so disagreeable
to you, I will bid you good-morning."

He bowed haughtily to the old man, while his eyes
still lingered upon Dorothy's face. Then turning
quickly, he strode down the steps, and mounted his
horse, the servants, who had gathered about, falling
away from before him.

Mary Broughton and Aunt Lettice, who had been
standing in the hall listening to the colloquy, now
came out to the porch and stood with the others
watching the scarlet-clad troop clatter noisily down
the driveway, following the rapid pace set by their
youthful leader.

John Devereux and Hugh Knollys, returning from
the town, met them just within the open gate, and
drew to one side, watching them with scowling brows
as they dashed past; and the young officer turned
in his saddle to glance over his shoulder, as if some
thing in the former's face had caught his attention.

158 From Kingdom to Colony

" What did those Britishers want here, father? " the
son asked, as he and Hugh came up the steps, leaving
their horses with Leet and Pashar.

" He would seem to wish to assure us of his cour
tesy and good-will; and when I declined these, he
demanded to see my son, whom he accused of
playing a boyish prank upon a King's officer, and
threatened him with irons, should he catch the
rogue."

All eyes were now turned upon Dorothy, who laid
her blushing face against her father's arm as she
stood clasping it.

Jack muttered something under his breath; and
Hugh, his face alight with mischief, said, "May
his search take up all the attention of himself and his
soldiers, which will be all the better for us." Then
stretching out his hand to Dorothy, he said with a
sudden change of manner, "Will you shake hands,
Dorothy?"

" What for? " she asked, still clinging to her father's
arm.

" As my way of thanking you that I am a free man
this morning, and not, perchance, in irons myself,
and on the road to the Governor, at Salem."

She laid her small hand in his broad palm, and the
look he gave her as his fingers closed over it seemed
to make her uncomfortable.

" It was very little I did," she declared quietly,
drawing her hand away.

" So it may seem to you," he said gravely. " But
had it not been done, the things that might have
followed would show you otherwise."

From Kingdom to Colony 159

In the afternoon the four young people set out to
ride over to Hugh's place, where a widowed mother
was anxiously expecting the arrival of her boy —
and only child.

Jack, for reasons now well understood, kept close
to Mary's bridle-rein ; so it befell that Dorothy and
Hugh were thrown upon one another's society more
intimately than for some time heretofore.

As they rode leisurely along the Salem turnpike
toward their destination, which lay away from the
town, the young man exclaimed suddenly, " I don't
believe another girl living would dare do such a thing,
Dorothy, as you did last night ! "

" Do cease prattling of last night," she said im
patiently. " I am sick to death hearing of it"

"Are you? " And Hugh's laughing eyes widened
with sober surprise. " I see no call for you to be so."

" I did not ask that you should," was the tart
answer, a wilful toss of her head accompanying the
sharp words.

" Why, Dorothy, whatever ails you ? " And he
looked more surprised than hurt at this new phase of
his quondam playfellow's disposition.

She did not reply ; and Hugh, seeing a glitter of
tears in her eyes, said nothing more.

And so they plodded along in utter silence; the
two ahead of them seeming to find no need for haste,
and conversing earnestly, as though greatly enter
tained by each other's company.

The thickly planted cornfields rose on either side
of their way, and the afternoon sun flickered the
landscape with fleeting shadows from the clouds sail-

160 From Kingdom to Colony

ing in the blue overhead, while now and again there
came a glimpse of the sea.

Everything about them was quiet, save the breath
ing of the horses and the noise of their trappings.

At length, coming within sight of the Knollys
homestead, the two in front drew rein and waited for
their companions to join them.

Dorothy gave the impatient mare her head, and
rode up briskly, with Hugh not far behind ; and then
all four went clattering through the gate and up
the grass-grown roadway, halting before the porch
of the low frame house that stood surrounded by
thickly planted fields running back to meet sloping
wooded hills, with grassy meadows intervening,
where flocks of sheep and many cows were grazing
peacefully.

A sweet-faced old lady — Hugh's mother — came
out of the door and greeted them cordially, but first
casting a searching glance at her son. Then bidding
a servant take their horses to the stable, she invited
them to come within.

But Hugh said : " No, mother ; Sam need not
take the horses away. We can stop but a short
time, and then I must go back to remain in town
for the night. I only rode over — and these kind
folk with me — to see how you were faring without
having me to look after matters, and to assure you of
my well being ; for I know how you like to fret if I
stop away long enough to give you the chance."

" You are a saucy boy," his mother replied, but
with a look that belied her words ; then turning to
the two girls, she asked after their fathers, and in-

From Kingdom to Colony 161

quired particularly about each member of their
households.

She listened eagerly to the news of the town, and
its latest doings ; the color, fresh as a girl's, coming
and going in her cheeks, and making a dainty con
trast with the snowy muslin of her mob-cap and the
kerchief wound about her throat and crossed over
her ample bust.

" And have any of these red-coated gallants stolen
their way to the hearts of you two girls ? " she asked
banteringly, — her eyes upon Mary Broughton's beau
tiful face.

Jack's eyes were there as well ; and Hugh alone
saw the sudden mounting of the blood to Dorothy's
cheeks and the troubled drooping of her eyelids.

John Devereux rose from his chair, and taking
Mary's hand, led her to the old lady.

" I am that one, good Mistress Knollys," he said
proudly, " who has stolen his way to this sweet girl's
true heart; and you are the first, outside the family,
to know of it."

" Dearie me ! " exclaimed Mistress Knollys, in a
happy fluttered way, as she drew Mary's blushing
face down and gave her a hearty kiss. " I always
suspected it would be so; and I am sure every one
will wish you joy, as I do with all my heart." Then
turning to her son, " Hugh, dear, get some wine
and cake, and let us pledge our dear friends. With
all these Britishers bringing trouble upon us, who
can say how much chance there '11 be left for joyful
doings? "

She bustled about with a beaming face, doing her-

1 62 From Kingdom to Colony

self most of the setting forth she had requested of her
son. But Hugh's face looked far graver than was its
wont ; his eyes strayed over to Dorothy, who was now
laughing and chatting like the rest, and he seemed to
be puzzling over a matter for which he could not find
a ready solution.

It was later than they thought when they set out.
upon their return, Mistress Knollys urging them to
come again soon, and saying, as she kissed Dorothy
last of all : " It ever makes me feel young again, my
dear child, to have you in the house. And now that
your brother and Mary have one another, and your
father has one more daughter, they can spare you to
your old friend with better grace."

From Kingdom to Colony 163

CHAPTER XVII

THE air was yet chill with the fresh north-wind,
that had blown all day, to go down only with
the sun, while the misty horizon of the afternoon was
now a well-defined fog-bank rolling in from over the
sea, and sending a damp breath in advance of its own
coming.

"We shall have a nasty night," said Hugh, looking
at the smoke-like wall. He and Dorothy were again
riding side by side, with the other two just ahead,
but out of ear-shot, and they were making a short
detour across the fields, their course taking them
past the Jameson place.

It was a pretentious-looking house, painted white,
with green blinds ; and a broad piazza was set back
amid the fluted columns that ran up to support the
upper floor, whose dormer windows jutted out among
the branches of the oak and elm trees. On the
piazza were several scarlet-coated gentry.

" Enjoying himself, no doubt, with rogues of his
own ilk," was John Devereux's comment, as he
looked over his shoulder at Hugh, — the two now
being quite close to one another.

" There might be a thousand rather than a hun
dred of the redcoats at the Neck, by the way they
seem to be ever turning up about the place," Hugh
muttered in reply, without taking the trouble to look
toward the house.

164 From Kingdom to Colony

" And here come some more," announced Mary,
in a tone of disgust, as half-a-dozen scarlet coats ap
peared suddenly in the field before them.

They were riding at a reckless pace which soon
brought them abreast of the four, who were now
taking their way quite soberly. And as they swept
past, the officer in the rear doffed his hat, while
he bent his eyes upon Dorothy's flushed face with
an intensity that made Hugh Knollys say half aloud,
" The impudent young dog — what does he mean? "

Mary Broughton sat rigidly in her saddle, turning
her head away at sight of the face disclosed by the
uplifted hat. But Dorothy smiled shyly into the
bright, daring eyes.

A little farther along they came upon three fisher
men trudging the same way as they were bound, one
of them being young Bait, whose attempt at singing
had brought upon him Doak's wrath the night before.

" Jameson be givin' a dinner to some o' the red
coats," he said, as the riders overtook him and his
companions, one of whom added angrily, —

" An' he best have a care that he don't get his roof
burnt over him an' his d d King's friends."

" Have a care yourself, man," said John Devereux,
warningly. " T is not wise to do aught yet that will
give them a handle to use for our own hurt."

"Aye," muttered the third, " that may do for now.
But if Jameson don't go with his own sort when
they leave the place, it may not be so easy for him
as it has been in the past."

" How long, think ye, Master John, afore the red
coats quit the Neck?" inquired Bait.

From Kingdom to Colony 165

" That were a hard matter for any one to say," was
the young man's reply. Then, as he urged his horse
forward, he turned to add over his shoulder, " But
take my advice, and avoid any brawling with the
soldiers, for the present, should you run foul of
them."

" That will have to be as it may," one of the men
answered doggedly, " accordin' as to how they mind
their own affairs and let us alone."

"We shall come to have fighting in our streets
yet, Jack ; you may be sure of it," said Hugh
Knollys. " Our men can never brook with any pa
tience the swaggering of these impudent fellows."

The other glanced at him warningly, with a signifi
cant motion of the head toward Dorothy; but the
girl did not appear to notice their talk, and was look
ing dreamingly away into the distance.

Mary Broughton, who was slightly in advance,
turned her head ; and Hugh saw how her blue eyes
were kindling as she exclaimed, " I, for one, should
not care if we did come to blows ! I 'd like to see our
men show the Britishers that they cannot have mat
ters altogether their own way down here."

" Would you like to take a gun yourself, Mary, and
help teach them this lesson? "was Hugh's laughing
question.

" Yes," she declared resolutely. " And I am sure
I could handle it, too."

" You '11 never need to do that, sweetheart, so long
as I live to carry out your mind," said Jack, who had
been wondering why Hugh looked at Dorothy so
oddly, and why she was so strangely silent.

1 66 From Kingdom to Colony

When the early evening meal was over that night,
the two young men took their way into the town,
where a meeting was to be held.

Old Leet rowed them down, they preferring this as
being least likely to attract notice; and avoiding the
old wharf, they landed on the beach, near the ware
houses, thence taking their way cautiously through
the fish-flakes that filled the fields, until they reached
the streets up in the town. These were deserted, but
filled with lurking shadows, being dimly lit by a stray
lamp fastened here and there to the buildings.

They walked slowly toward the town hall, while
they talked in low tones of Jameson, making no doubt
but that his attentions and hospitality to the Britishers
would be known and commented upon at the meeting.

When close to the hall a wild clamor broke out
from somewhere ahead of them; and they hurried
forward to learn what it might mean.

It was a street fight between the redcoats and the
townspeople; and although no powder was being
used, strong arms and hard fists were doing almost
as painful work.

The British frigate " Lively " had dropped anchor
in the harbor at sunset, and as soon as darkness came,
a press-gang had been sent on shore to capture such
sturdy fishermen as might be abroad, and impress
them into the service of His Majesty's navy.

Several men had already been taken, and they
were resisting most lustily, while such of their friends
as chanced to be in the streets were coming to their
rescue.

But these were few in number, as most of the citi-

From Kingdom to Colony 167

zens who were not at their homes were now gathered
in the town hall, awaiting the opening of the meeting,
which was to be of more than usual importance, as
measures were to be taken with respect to the new
tyranny indicated by the presence of soldiers quartered
upon the Neck.

While the two young men paused on a street
corner overlooking the combatants, hesitating as to
what might be the best thing for them to do, the
light from a house over the way shone down upon
one figure, as though singling it out from the
others.

It was that of a swarthy, strongly built young fel
low, taller than most of those about him, and with a
bright, resolute face. Hatless, and in his shirt-sleeves,
he was raining heavy blows upon such of the enemy
as sought to lay hands on him.

"Tis Jem Mugford ! " exclaimed Hugh. "See,
Jack, what a gallant fight he is making for him
self!"

Mugford was well known in the town, and was al
ready, despite his youth, the captain of a merchant
vessel. He had been but recently married; and
Jack and Hugh recalled the sunny morning when
they saw him, looking so handsome and happy,
alongside the pretty girl he had just taken for his
wife.

They both, moved by the same impulse, now made
a dash toward him ; but the surging crowd — of friends
and foes alike — came between in a way to frustrate
their intention. Then, while they were still struggling
to reach him, there went up a loud, angry shout

1 68 From Kingdom to Colony

bristling with vigorous oaths : " They Ve got Jem !
They've got him an' carried him off! Squael 'em,
squael 'em ! " l

The cries and tumult were deafening; and the dark
mass rolled slowly down the street, leaving the young
men almost alone.

" 'T is an outrage ! " exclaimed Hugh Knollys,
panting from his unavailing exertions. "We need
all of us to carry guns to guard against such dastardly
work. What will his poor wife do, and her father,
now that they '11 not have Jem to look to for support
and defence?"

" I take it she will not lack for good defenders,"
answered Jack, his voice trembling with anger, " not
so long as you and I live in the town, to say naught
of his other friends. With the enemy in our harbor,
and amongst us in the very town, the quicker we arm
the better, say I. Let us go first to see Mistress
Mugford, and then we '11 go to the hall. "

But Hugh held back, for he had a wholesome
dread of women's tears and hysterics.

"There will be plenty to tell her the bad news,
poor soul," he said ; " and women, too, who will know
best how to console and comfort her."

Jack saw the force of this, and did not press the
matter; so they took their way to the town hall,
which was already crowded^ although its tightly
shuttered windows gave no sign of the life within.
The door was strongly barred, and only opened to
the new-comers after they had satisfied the sentinel
on guard of their right to be admitted.

1 " Rock them ! " i. e. " Throw rocks at them ! "

From Kingdom to Colony 169

Gray heads and brown were there, the old and the
young, representing the best blood of the town. And
there was a generous sprinkling of weather-beaten
and stout-hearted sailors and fishermen, who listened
silently, with grave faces and eager eyes, to all that
was said.

The talk was for the most part a review of matters
considered at former meetings, to the effect that Par
liament, being a body wherein no member represented
the colonies, had yet undertaken the making of laws
affecting not only the property, but the liberty and
lives of His Majesty's American subjects — it was
argued that such right did not exist, nor any author
ity to annul or in any manner alter the charter of the
Province, nor to interfere with its councillors, justices,
sheriffs, or jurors.

The matter of the British soldiers being quartered
upon the Neck was also taken up, and with it the
outrage committed that very evening by the press-
gang ; and in view of these attacks upon the peace
of the town it was deemed wise to push forward at
once the measures already agitated looking to pro
tection and safety.

The fort was to be repaired, and put in condition
for proper defence. The militia consisted at this
time of a regiment of seven companies of active, well-
disciplined men, but under the command of officers
commissioned by Governor Gage or his predeces
sors. It was deemed expedient that these should
no longer act, but that they should be replaced by
others chosen by vote of the town. And every citi
zen should possess himself of a firearm and bayonet,

170 From Kingdom to Colony

both in good order, and should be equipped with
thirty rounds of cartridges and ball, as well as a
pouch and knapsack.

It was also resolved that effectual measures be
taken for the silencing, or expulsion from the com
munity, of those " ministerial tools and Jacobites,"
who persisted in opposing the action of the various
committees, or else held themselves aloof from taking
part in the measures needful to protect the rights of
the Province and people.

These men who thus spoke and conferred with each
other were an impressive embodiment of the spirit
which actuated the entire community. Their looks
and words were glowing with prayerful earnestness,
their manner full of dignity and solemnity.

The memory of these, — of their lofty ideality of
aspiration, of the purity of their principles and
motives, their love of country and integrity of pur
pose, — all this is a sacred treasure for the old town,
and one still potent with patriotic influence.

Theirs was not the courage that shows forth in
bravado, and which delights, from mere exuberance
of spirit, in defying peril for its own sake. Rather
was it the true, deeper courage of devotion, — the
courage that sacrificed self for others, and which for
principle and what was deemed simple duty was
ready to endure all things. It was the devotion that
would accept all results, would meet death, if needs
be, or wear life away in slow suffering.

Such courage was the solid material, not the flash
and glitter that pleases and bewilders, and then is as
unremembered as is the pebble a child tosses into

From Kingdom to Colony 171

the sea, and having watched the ripple it makes,
never thinks of again.

All this has become the priceless jewel of our
national history for all time, the salt that gives savor
to our country's life. The keynote of it was this, —
these men truly loved their country, and were its
loyal, steadfast friends. And are we not told from
the highest of all high sources that " Greater love
hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life
for his friends " ?

172 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER XVIII

TT was nearly midnight when the two young men
•*• took their way back through the fields to their
boat and its faithful guardian.

They were soon afloat, and none but Leet would
have ventured to row so steadily and rapidly down
Great Bay in the fog that now shut in about them like
a wall of white wool, muffling all objects from sight.

The stillness was intense, save for the lapping of
the water on the near-by shore, — this seeming to
quicken the old darkey's acute knowledge of the
course he was rowing.

The young men sat in either end of the boat, with
Leet between them ; and not a word was spoken
until the keel grated on the sand of Riverhead Beach.

The old negro required no light to secure the craft
in its accustomed place; and as the others stood
waiting for him to do this, a faint sound of galloping
horses came to their ears, apparently from down
Devereux Lane, which led from the Salem road
directly to the beach, and so on to the Neck.

They listened intently, while the sound came un
mistakably nearer.

" Hist, Jack ! " said Hugh, in a low voice ; " that
must be the redcoats coming from Jameson's dinner."

"'Tis sure to be, judging from the reckless fashion
of their riding. Leet, come with us, — 't is as well to

From Kingdom to Colony 173

step behind the boathouse until they pass, for we
want no challenging at this hour of the night." And
as John Devereux said this, he and his companions
passed quickly behind the small building.

A dull yellow gleam showed smearingly through
the fog as the horsemen clattered by, with here and
there a lantern fastened to their saddles ; and their
loud laughter and boisterous talk seemed to bespeak
a free indulgence in good wines and liquors.

As they struck the beach they fell into a more
sober pace, and the last two, riding side by side, were
talking in tones that came distinctly to the ears of
those concealed behind the boathouse.

" 'T is like that Southern hopes to obtain more
certain information by accepting the old fellow's
hospitality," said one of them ; " for it cannot be that
the wine is the only attraction, to judge from the way
he passed it by to-night."

" Aye," was the reply. " He seemed not to care
whether it were good Christian fare we were having
once more, or the dogs' food of the camp."

" Maybe he is sickened, like the rest of us, with
this heathen land and its folk, and rues the day he
ever left the only country fit for a man to live in,
to be sent to this strip o' land, with never a petticoat
or bright eye to make the stupid time a little more
bearable."

The other man laughed. " Perchance if we could
but get speech with Jameson's fair friend of whom he
prated so much, we might be singing another tune.
What was it he called her — such a heathenish name
it was never my lot to hear before? "

174 From Kingdom to Colony

" He called her ' Mistress Penine ; ' but she is no
blushing maid, for he said — "

Here the words, which had been growing less dis
tinct, died away altogether, and the glow of the
lanterns was shut off by the fog, as the clattering of
hoofs became lost in the roar of the surf beating in
from the seaward side.

John Devereux had refrained from acquainting
Hugh with his father's discovery of Aunt Penine's
treachery ; but now, as they walked toward the house,
he told him the facts.

"Think you, Jack, that she has been holding
any further communication with Jameson?" Hugh
asked.

" That would seem most unlikely, for she has been
confined to her room since last Monday night, and
both my father and Dot have been watchful of the
servants, although I do not believe there is a traitor
amongst them. As to Pashar, he is too young to
rightfully sense what he was doing, even if he had the
wit. Fear of Aunt Penine on the one hand, and
a liking for Jameson's loose silver on the other, were
his only incentives; but dread of my father's dis
pleasure has now put an end to all that."

He had persuaded Hugh to return with him for the
night, instead of going to the house of a married
cousin living in the town, as he proposed doing, for
the reason that it would put him so much farther
on the way to his own place, whither he intended to
ride the next morning, notwithstanding it would be
the Sabbath.

They found the household long since retired, save

From Kingdom to Colony 175

only its head ; and when they were seated in the din
ing-room the young men gave him a detailed account
of the evening's doings.

When this had been done, Joseph Devereux im
parted to them his determination- to lodge with the
committee the name of his sister-in-law, to be listed
with those of the other unfaithful townspeople. He
had also resolved that on the following Monday she
should be carried in his coach to her brother's house,
in Lynn, for a future residence.

This had come from the fact that soon after the two
young men had departed for the town, a messenger
from Jameson brought her a communication.

The fellow had refused to leave without a reply,
until forced thereto by the servants whom Joseph
Devereux summoned for that purpose ; and he went
away threatening vengeance upon the entire house
hold when he should have reported to his master the
indignity to which he had been subjected.

" Do you know, father," asked Jack, " what it
was to which he expected an answer from Aunt
Penine — I mean, anything as to the contents of
the letter?"

"Nay, my boy. She refused to see me at first;
and when I insisted upon it, she became defiant, and
would not converse with me o' the matter, saying
that it was her own concern, and naught to do with
my business. And so I told her that, such being the
case, she should hold herself in readiness to be driven
to her brother's house on Monday, when she and her
concerns would give no further trouble to me or my
household."

176 From Kingdom to Colony

"Jameson will not be safe a moment," said Hugh
Knollys, " after the redcoats are withdrawn. Indeed,"
he added, " 't would be no great wonder if some of the
fisherfolk should even now burn the roof over his
head."

" 'T is to be hoped they '11 do no such thing," said
the elder man, shaking his head ; " for 'twould surely
be used as a pretence for injuring the innocent, —
perchance the townsfolk at large."

He now turned to his son and said in a tone of
deep anxiety : " By the way, Jack, we must see to it
that all be over-careful how such matters be talked
on before Dot. I know not what has come to the
child. She has been moody and unlike herself all
the evening, starting at every sound, as if fearful o'
danger. And when she came to tell me good-night
awhile ago, she broke down in great weeping. I had
much ado to soothe her ; and to all my questioning
she had but the one answer, that she did not know
what ailed her, only that she felt as though her heart
would break."

Jack looked very serious, and Hugh Knollys moved
uneasily in his chair. Then the former said : " Per
haps it is only that she is in a way unstrung from the
excitement of last night. I thought this afternoon
that she acted not quite like herself, — that she seemed
to have something on her mind. Did you not note
it, Hugh?"

Hugh started, and looked still more uncomfortable.
His thoughts had been dwelling upon Dorothy's
unusual behavior during the afternoon. He was
thinking of her reticence and impatience, — of the

From Kingdom to Colony 177

acerbity of her manner toward himself; and he
recalled the quick flushing of her face as the young
officer lifted his hat.

All this had made a distinct impression upon him ;
but the affair was her own, — one which he felt reluc
tant to mention even to her father or brother. And
so, in answer to Jack's direct question, he uttered one
of the few falsehoods of his life.

" Nay, Jack ; I noted nothing unusual in her
manner. I think as you, that she has been a bit
overwrought by last night's happenings. Ah," he
exclaimed, with animation, and glad to speak the
truth once more, " but it was a brave thing she
did ! And yet she likes to make naught of it."

" Dorothy is brave by nature," her father said, his
eyes kindling with pride. " And she is too young to
comprehend the full weight o' what she did, prompted
as it was by impulse, and by love for her brother."
Then turning to Jack, he asked with a change of
manner, " Did you see or hear aught o' the British
frigate on your way home ? "

" Nothing, father, — only, as I told you, that she
dropped anchor in Little Harbor, just as the darkness
fell."

" She 'd not be likely to go from her anchorage in
this fog." The old man spoke musingly, while he
slowly filled his pipe for a final smoke before retiring
for the night

" But I take it they will move from there as soon
as may be, on account of fearing the trouble they
have a right to expect because of the men they've
stolen," Hugh said indignantly.

178 From Kingdom to Colony

" Yes," added Jack, " even if only to get into Great
Bay, and closer to their fellows on the Neck."

"'Tis a thousand pities they should have taken
Mugford," the old gentleman remarked, as he care
fully lit his pipe.

" Yes," his son assented ; " it is in every way a
pity, for if they wish to invite trouble they could not
have made a better opening for ill feeling among the*
people of the town."

" Indeed they could not," Hugh exclaimed hotly.
" Every one is sure to take Mugford's abduction to
heart, and find a way to make the redcoats answer
for it."

" We shall find a way, please God, to make them
all answer for their overbearing and insolence to us
as a country as well as individuals," Joseph Devereux
said gravely. " And that reminds me, I had surely
thought Broughton and the rest o' the committee
would have returned from Boston this night."

" He was very doubtful, as I think, of getting back
before to-morrow, or perhaps until Monday." And
a dreamy look softened Jack's face, as if he might
be thinking of what was to be told when Nicholson
Broughton returned.

" Jack, what a lucky beggar you are ! " exclaimed
Hugh, with a touch of envy in his tone, as the two
young men tarried a moment in the former's room
before saying good-night.

Jack opened his eyes still wider, exactly after the
fashion of Dorothy when she was surprised.

" You see," Hugh added nervously, " you love
Mary Broughton, and she loves you, and you have

From Kingdom to Colony 179

the approval and blessing of both fathers. Now
I — " Here he stammered, and then became silent.

" What is it, Hugh — do you wish me to under
stand that you love Mary yourself?"

John Devereux spoke seriously, almost jealously,
for an old suspicion was beginning to awaken once
more within him.

But Hugh laughed in a way to forever remove any
such feeling from his friend's mind.

"I — I love Mary ! " he exclaimed. " I never
dreamed of such a thing, Jack, although I admit that
she is very beautiful, and possesses everything to call
forth any man's best and deepest love. But, my dear
Jack, if you were not blinded, you might see that the
world holds other girls than Mary." And he looked
wistfully at his friend, as if wishing him to know
something he hesitated to put into words.

" Do you mean that you are in love with some one,
Hugh?" asked Jack, laying his hand on the other's
broad shoulder.

Hugh's blue eyes lowered as bashfully as those
of a girl, and Jack, now smiling at him, said,
" Who is it — Polly Chine, over at the Fountain
Inn?"

" Polly Chine ! " Hugh answered disgustedly. " A
great strapping red-cheeked clatter-tongue, who can
do naught but laugh?"

"Well, if 't is not Polly, then I am all at sea, for I
never knew you to do more than speak to another
girl, unless — " And he paused, as something in
Hugh's pleading eyes caught his attention and awoke
his senses with a rush.

180 From Kingdom to Colony

" Oh, Hugh — it surely is not — " But Knollys
interrupted him.

" Yes, Jack," he said with slow earnestness, " it is
— Dorothy."

Silence followed this avowal, and Jack's hand fell
from his friend's shoulder. Then with an incredulous
laugh he said: "Dorothy — why she is little more
than a baby, with no thought beyond her horse and
other pets. 'T was not long since I came upon her
playing at dolls with little 'Bitha."

" She will be seventeen her next birthday," Hugh
retorted with some impatience ; " and that is but a
year less than Mary Broughton's age."

" Yes," Jack admitted. " But it is several months
yet to Dot's birthday; and those months, nor yet
another year, can scarce give to my little sister the
womanly depth for sentiment and suffering that Mary
now possesses."

"Think ye so, Jack?" said Hugh, as though in
clined to argue the matter. "You know 'tis odd,
sometimes, how little we guess aright the nature
of those akin to us, however dear we may love
them."

The young man sighed as he thought of the look
he caught in Dorothy's eyes when the olive-faced
horseman uncovered his handsome head, and also
recalled the flushing of her cheeks at his mother's
banter.

Jack's hand was now once more upon Hugh's
shoulder, and he said in his warm, impulsive way:
" See here, old fellow, I 'd sooner have you for a
brother than any other man I know ; and my father

From Kingdom to Colony 181

is well-nigh certain to approve. Only I feel sure he
would say what I now ask of you, and that is, not to
speak of such matters to little Dot — not yet awhile ;
for it would only risk making her think of what
otherwise might never come into that wilful head of
hers. And while there seem to be such grave
matters gathering for our attention, it were best not
to give her heart aught to trouble over."

" Then you admit she might be woman enough to
take to heart whatever ill would come to me? " Hugh
asked eagerly.

Jack's answer was guarded, although not lacking
in kindly feeling.

" The child has a warm heart, Hugh, and has
known you long enough to feel deep sorrow should
any evil come to you — which God forbid. But take
my advice, and do not stir deeper thought in her, to
make her sorrow like a woman, but let her keep her
child's heart awhile longer."

After the young men had bidden each other more
than a usually cordial good-night, Hugh Knollys
remained seated for a long time in his own room, his
hands deep in his pockets, and his legs stretched to
their uttermost length. He was lost in thoughts that
were neither entirely pleasurable nor yet altogether
lacking in that quality.

He had loved Dorothy since she was a child, and
he admired her character far more than that of any
girl he had ever known. The reckless daring of her
nature — the trait Aunt Penine had censured so
severely, and which the others of the family regarded
somewhat askance — met with a quick sympathy from

1 8 2 From Kingdom to Colony

his own impulsive temperament; and this last out
burst of her intrepid spirit had acted like a torch to
set aflame all his dreams and desires. And now the
suspicion that some sort of an understanding existed
between the girl and this young Britisher gave him
a fierce desire to speak out, and claim for his own
that which he feared the other man might seek to
take from him.

And so he chafed at his friend's injunction, hoping
as he did, that, could he but obtain the first hearing,
the redcoat's chances might be weakened, if not
destroyed altogether.

As he sat here alone, there came to him like a flash
the memory of one late afternoon in a long-ago
autumn, when, upon his return from a fishing-trip,
he found Dorothy — then a dimpled mite of seven
or eight — visiting his mother, as she often did in
those days.

The child had been left to amuse herself alone;
and this she did by taking down a powder-horn
hanging upon the wall, filled with some cher
ished bullets which Hugh was hoarding as priceless
treasures.

He seemed to see again the great dark room, lit
only by the leaping flames from the logs piled in the
open fireplace, and the little scarlet-clad child look
ing up with big startled eyes at his indignant face as
he stood in the doorway, while the precious bullets
poured in a rattling shower over the wooden floor.
He saw once more her look turn to fiery anger, as
he strode over and boxed her ears; and he could
hear the girlish treble crying, " Wait, Hugh Knollys,

From Kingdom to Colony 183

until I am as big as you, and I '11 hurt you sorely for
that ! "

Aye, and she had already hurt him sorely, for all
his breadth of shoulder and length of limb ; she had
hurt him in a way to make all his life a bitter sorrow
should she now reject his love !

184 From Kingdom to Colony

OCTOBER had come, with an unusual glory of
late wild-flowers and reddened leaves.

The soldiers were still quartered upon the Neck,
and owing to the many collisions between them and
the townspeople, the Governor had seen fit to aug
ment the force. Several times the citizens had
almost determined to march to the Neck and exter
minate the entire body of Britishers; but wiser
counsels prevailed, and no attack was made.

Governor Gage had issued a proclamation forbid
ding the assembling of the legislature which had been
called to meet at Salem upon the fifth of the month.
But notwithstanding this interdiction it had con
vened upon the appointed day, and resolved itself
into a Provincial Congress.

Azar Orne, Jeremiah Lee, and Elbridge Gerry
were the delegates representing Marblehead, and
they took a prominent part in the proceedings. A
number of important matters were discussed and
acted upon, and a committee was appointed for
" Observation and Prevention," and with instructions
to " co-operate with other towns in the Province for
preventing any of the inhabitants, so disposed, from
supplying the English troops with labor, lumber,
bricks, spars, or any other material whatsoever,
except such as humanity requires."

From Kingdom to Colony 185

The loyalists in the town were still zealous in the
King's cause, and would not be silenced. And they
entreated their neighbors and friends to recede,
before it became too late, from the position they
had taken. But the only reply of the patriots was,
" Death rather than submission ! " And they went
on making provision for the organization of an army
of their own.

Companies of " Minute Men " were enlisted, and
these were disciplined and equipped. A compensa
tion of two shillings per day was to be allowed each
private; and to sergeants, drummers, fifers, and
clerks, three shillings each. First and second lieu
tenants were to receive four shillings sixpence, and
captains, five shillings. Pay was to be allowed for
but three days in each week, although a service of
four hours a day was required.

The town house was now filled — as were also most
of the warehouses and other buildings — with the
stored goods of Boston merchants, who were suffer
ing from the operation of the Port Bill, which had
closed that harbor to their business. And owing to
this, as also by reason of the greater advantage
afforded for securing privacy, the townsmen now held
their meetings at the old tavern on Front Street,
which faced the water, thus giving a good oppor
tunity for observing the movements of the enemy
upon the Neck.

John Glover, one of the town's foremost men, and
a stanch patriot, lived near here; and he was now
at the head of the regiment in which were John
Devereux and Hugh Knollys, — the former being

1 86 From Kingdom to Colony

second lieutenant in the company of which Nicholson
Broughton was captain, and in whose ranks Hugh
was serving as a private.

Soon after his return from Boston, Broughton had
closed his own house, deeming it too much exposed
to the enemy for the safety of his daughter, who was
compelled during his many absences to remain there
alone with the servants; and Mary had gone with
them to the house of a married aunt — Mistress
Horton — living in a more retired portion of the
town, away from the water.

He had consented, in response to the urging of his
prospective son-in-law, that the wedding should take
place before the winter was over. And thus it was
that Mary, being busy with preparations for the event,
left Dorothy much to herself, — more, perhaps, than
was well for her at this particular time.

Aunt Penine had departed upon the day her
brother-in-law fixed ; but under Aunt Lettice's mild
guidance, coupled with Tyntie's efficient rule, the
household went on fully as well as before, — better,
indeed, in many respects, for there was no opposing
will to make discord.

The tory Jameson still remained under an unburned
roof, despite the mutterings against him ; and he
continued to entertain the redcoats with lavish
hospitality.

Several times, during trips to and from the Knollys
house, Dorothy, escorted by Hugh or her brother —
sometimes by both — or by old Leet, had en
countered the young officer. But nothing more than
a bow and smile had passed between them since the

From Kingdom to Colony 187

morning he had turned so haughtily from her father's
presence.

It was about the middle of the month, and the
shutters of all the windows were opened wide to let
in the flood of autumn sunshine as the family sat at
breakfast; and the silver service in front of Aunt
Lettice glinted like little winking eyes where it
caught the golden flood.

Her delicate white hands had poured out the
sweetened hot milk and water which she and 'Bitha
drank in lieu of tea, while her brother-in-law, busy
with looking over a copy of the " Salem Gazette "
brought by his son the night before, was letting his
coffee cool.

Jack himself, after a hastily despatched breakfast,
had already gone into the town, where he had mat
ters of importance to look after, not the least of them
being to dine at the Hortons' with Mary and her
father; and he would not return until late in the
evening.

Dorothy had little to say, seeming to be busy with
her own thoughts ; but she could not help smiling as
little 'Bitha murmured softly, " Oh, grandame, I am
all full of glory by now, for I caught a lot of sunshine
on my spoon and swallowed it."

" And you '11 be full of a mess, child, if you stir
your porridge about in such reckless fashion," said
Aunt Lettice, smiling as her eyes met Dorothy's.

" Dot," her father now asked suddenly, lifting his
eyes from the paper, "when did you last see old
Ruth Lecrow?"

Dorothy started, and her big eyes turned to him

1 88 From Kingdom to Colony

with a troubled look as she answered, " It is all of a
month since I saw her."

The girl's conscience smote her, as never before
had she neglected for so long a time to go and see
the faithful carer of her own motherless infancy, or
else send needful provision for her impoverished old
age.

" A month ! " her father repeated. " How is that,
my child?" Then with a searching, anxious look
into her downcast face, he said more gently : " You
had best take Leet, and go to Ruth this very morn
ing. The air and sun be fine enough to bring back
the roses to your cheeks. I am thinking that you
stop within doors too much o' late."

Before Dorothy could reply, Aunt Lettice reminded
him that Leet was to meet Jack in the town that
morning.

"Then I will walk, father," the girl said, "and
take Pashar."

With this she arose from the table and was about
to leave the room, when 'Bitha put in a petition that
she might accompany her.

"No, 'Bitha," interposed her grandmother, "you
made such a froach l of your sampler yesterday that
you have it all to do over again this morning, as you
promised me." She spoke with gentle firmness, and
the child hung her head in silence.

" Never mind, 'Bitha," Dorothy said soothingly, as
she touched the small blonde head, — " mayhap we
can have Leet take us to see Mistress Knollys this
afternoon."

1 Spoiled work.

From Kingdom to Colony 189

" I 'd sooner go on the water, Dot," the child sug
gested timidly. Then turning to the head of the
house, she asked : " Cannot we go out in one of the
boats, Uncle Joseph? We've not been on the water
for a long time." And the blue eyes were lifted
pleadingly to the old gentleman, who had just set
down his emptied cup.

"Nay, my child," he answered, "that you must
not; and for the same reason that none have been
for so long a time. None o' ye must go nigh the
boats until the redcoats be gone from the Neck."

" When will they go? " asked 'Bitha, pouting a little.
" They have spoiled our good times for long past.
We cannot go anywhere as we used."

" Nor can others older than you, my child," he said
with an unmirthful smile, as he arose from the table.
" The soldiers are a pest in the town, little one. But
till the King sees fit to call them off, or we find a way
to make them go, you must be content to stop nigh
the house, and away from the boats." Then he
added teasingly, as he put his hand upon her head,
"The redcoats may carry you off, if you put yourself
in their way."

'Bitha shook off his hand as she gave her small
head a belligerent toss. " If they tried to do that,
Uncle Joseph, I 'd push them over the rocks, as Mary
Broughton did that redcoat we met in the cave. And
oh, Dot," — turning to her — "that 'minds me that
the other day when I was with Leet and Trent, down
in the ten-acre lot, that same redcoat was there,
sitting in the door of the shed, with his horse stand
ing nigh. And when he saw us coming, he hurried

190 From Kingdom to Colony

away. And Trent said 'twas lucky no sheep were
within the shed for him to steal."

" He is a gentleman, 'Bitha, and would no more
steal my father's sheep than would you or I ! "

Dorothy's voice was full of indignation, and the
child's eyes opened wide at its unusual sharpness.
But this, as well as her heightened color, her father
and Aunt Lettice ascribed to embarrassment at being
reminded of her exploit of the past summer.

All the outside world lay flooded in the warm
golden sunshine that blunted the cold edge of the
wind rushing from the north, where sullen cloud-
banks were piling up in a way to threaten a change
of weather before night. The sea lay a floor of
molten silver and burnished steel, and the crows called
incessantly from the woods.

Dorothy chose to take a short cut across the fields
to old Ruth's abode ; and while skirting the ten-acre
lot, she cast a furtive glance toward the large shed,
as if expecting to see a scarlet coat in the doorway.

But only the homespun-clad form of Trent was
there, letting out a large flock of sheep, who came
gambolling about him, and then dispersed over the
dry brown grass, where a bright green patch showed
here and there.

"'Twas queer, Mist' ess Dor'thy, dat we nebber
foun' de two cows dat strayed so long 'go, don't ye
t'ink?" inquired Pashar, who followed close behind
her with a big basket on his arm.

Dorothy, intent upon her own affairs, did not reply,
and the boy went on : " Trent say now dat he b'leebe
de redcoats stole 'em, fo' sure."

From Kingdom to Colony 191

" How could that be," she asked sharply, " when
the cows were missing before any soldiers came down
here?"

"I dunno, Mist'ess — on'y dat's what Trent say,
an' what we all b'leebe."

Here Dorothy was startled by a wild, shrill yell
from the boy, and turned quickly to see the cause of
it. The sheep had discovered a broken place in the
fence, and were trooping through it en masse ; and if
once out of the field, there was nothing to bar their
way to Riverhead Beach.

Trent had already started in pursuit, but it was
easy to see that many of the flock would be on
the other side of the fence before he could stop
them.

" Give me the basket," Dorothy said to the negro
boy, " and go to help Trent. Then come to Ruth's
after me."

She had scarcely spoken when he, giving her the
basket, uttered another wild yell and was off, speed
ing after the wayward sheep. He was soon alongside
Trent, who had stopped to put some bars across the
opening, at which the few detained animals were now
poking with eager noses. But these scattered quickly
when Pashar, with renewed shouts, charged through
them and vaulted the fence, to dash away on the
other side with a speed that quickly carried him out
of sight.

Pursuing her way alone, Dorothy soon reached the
Salem road, which she crossed, climbing the stone
walls on either side, and was again in a narrow strip
of pasture land ending in a wood, where the stillness

192 From Kingdom to Colony

was broken only by the squirrels chattering overhead
as though in fear of the intruder.

The sun sent its rays here and there across the
paths that led in different directions, all of them
carpeted with needles from the tall pine-trees stand
ing amid the oaks and chestnuts ; and the one Doro
thy pursued brought her soon to the summit of a
small hill, where it took a sharp turn, and then ran
directly to a small, hut-like dwelling, about the door
of which grew a honeysuckle vine.

In front of the house was what in the summer had
been a flower-garden ; everything about it was neat,
and the tiny panes of glass in the unshuttered win
dows were spotlessly bright.

Dorothy did not wait to knock, but opened the
door, and was within the living-room of the house,
there being no hall. It was wide, and low-ceilinged,
with clumsy beams set upright against the walls, be-
dimmed with age and smoke. Directly opposite the
entrance was the open hearth, back of which a slug
gish fire was burning; and kneeling in front of the
logs was a girl of fourteen, working with a clumsy
pair of bellows to blow it into a brisker flame.

She was so engrossed in her task as not to
hear the door open, but started quickly as Dorothy
said, " Good-day, Abbie ; how is your granny this
morning? "

" Oh, Mistress Dorothy, how you scared me ! " the
girl cried, springing to her feet, and showing, as she
turned her head, a preternaturally old and worried
face.

"Where is Ruth?" inquired the smiling intruder,

From Kingdom to Colony 193

who now put down the heavy basket, and began to
remove her cloak, whose hood had somewhat dis
arranged the curls over which it was drawn.

" Granny be in bed yet, for her rheumatiz be in her
legs to-day, she says. An' she was worritin' over ye,
for fear ye might be ill. She was sayin' last evenin'
that I was to go over and inquire."

Perfectly at home in the little house, Dorothy went
straight to her old nurse's bedroom, to find her
propped up in bed, knitting, and with an open Bible
lying beside her on the snow-white counterpane.

" Oh, my lamb ! " she exclaimed joyfully, catching
sight of the sunny face, that was soon bending over
her, while the dim old eyes devoured its every feature.
" But I am glad to see ye, for I feared ye were ill, for
sure. An' what a lot o' sweet fresh ye bring about !
It must be a fine day outside. Ah," with a deep sigh,
" if I could only get about as I used to, my lamb ! "
The old woman's voice faltered, and the moisture was
showing in her eyes.

"You will be well again, Ruth, when the winter
gets fairly set," Dorothy said cheerfully. " 'T is the
seasons changing that always make you feel poorly."

" Mayhap, mayhap," sighed the old woman. " But
it seems only yesterday I was runnin' about, a girl
like ye, with no thought of ache or pain; an' but an
other yesterday when I had ye, a little babe, in my
arms. An' here I be now, a crippled, useless old
body, with only a poor granddaughter, who has to do
for me what I ought to be doin' for her. An' here
ye be, a fine grown young woman, ready to be
married."

13

194 From Kingdom to Colony

Dorothy's laugh rang through the small room.
"•Not I, Ruth. I shall always live with my father.
And I am sure Abbie is glad to do all she can for
you." This last was with a kindly glance at the girl,
who had that moment slipped into the room to see if
she might be wanted for anything.

She turned to Dorothy with a gratified look on her
wan face, and said with an attempt at heartiness : " Yes,
Mistress Dorothy, that I am. Only she be forever
frettin', like I was the worst o' granddaughters to
her."

The old woman smiled at this, as she permitted
the girl to raise her shoulders a little, and shake up
the pillows before leaving the room.

As soon as she was gone, Dorothy said, " I brought
you a basket of things I hoped you wanted ; and I '11
not stop so long away from you another time."

"Aye, my lamb, but ye have stayed away a sore
long time. But now that ye 're a young lady, ye 've
pleasanter folk to talk to than your old nurse."

" Now, Ruth," Dorothy threatened playfully, " if
you talk to me in that fashion, I '11 go straight home
again."

The old eyes were turned upon her- wistfully, while
the knotted fingers nervously handled the knitting-
needles. Then Ruth said, " Moll Pitcher was here
yesterday to see me."

"Was she? What did she say?" asked Dorothy,
all in the same breath; for she took the keenest
interest in Moll and her talk.

" I made her talk to me o' ye, my lamb. An' I was
sorry for it afterwards ; for what she said kept me

From Kingdom to Colony 195

wakeful most o' the night. She did not want to tell
me, either; but I made her."

" But what did she say ? " Dorothy repeated eagerly.
" Tell me just what she said, Ruth."

The old woman hesitated, as though unwilling to
reply. Then her restless fingers became quiet, and
she said slowly and earnestly : " She told me that your
fate was about ye now, fast an' firm, an' that no one
could change it. An' she said your future days were
tied about with a scarlet color."

" Oh, Ruth," Dorothy said at once, " she must
mean that war is coming to us." She was entirely
free from any self-consciousness, and her eyes looked
with earnest surprise into the solemn old face lying
back upon the pillows. But her color deepened as
Ruth added still more impressively: "Nay, my lamb,
she told me o' war times to come, beside. But she
meant that a redcoat would steal your heart away;
an' she said that naught could change it, — that his
heart was set to ye as the flowers to the sunshine, —
that ye held him to wind about your little finger, as
I wind my wool. An' she said that sorrow, deep
sorrow, would come to ye with it."

Tears were now dropping down the withered cheeks,
and Dorothy thought her own were coming from
sympathy with the grief of her old nurse. For a
moment — only a moment — she felt frightened and
almost helpless, even turning to glance quickly over
her shoulder at the door of the outer room, as if to
see if the redcoat were already in pursuit of her.

Then her own dauntless spirit asserted itself once
more, and she laughed with joyous disbelief.

196 From Kingdom to Colony

" Nonsense, Ruth, — nothing but nonsense ! And
don't you be fretting, and making yourself unhappy
over something that can never happen."

" Moll always speaks truth, they say," the old
woman insisted, wiping her wet cheeks with the half-
knit stocking. " But we '11 see what time will bring
to ye, my lamb. Moll is a good woman. She gave
me some herbs for my ailment, an' was most kind to
me. She stopped all night, an' went on this morning,
for her father be dead, an' she have gone to Lynn to
'bide."

" Well, I hope she '11 stop there forever, before she
comes to make you fret again over such silly tales.
You must use the herbs, Ruth, and get well, so that
you can dance at Jack's wedding. You know he and
Mary Broughton will be married near Christmas-tide."

Ruth looked fondly at the girl. " I 'd much sooner
dance at your own, my lamb, if ye married the right
man."

Dorothy laughed. " Can you tell me where to find
him, Ruth, — did Moll tell you where he was?"

" Aye, that she did," was the quick reply. " An'
she told me much I 'd best keep to myself. Only the
part I told ye worrited me, an' so I had to open my
heart to ye. But I '11 tell ye this, — keep all the red
coats away from ye, my lamb ; shun 'em as ye would
snakes, an' trust only to the true hearts nigh home.
There be Master Hugh Knollys — he be most fit
for ye."

Dorothy laughed again. " Hugh Knollys," she
repeated. " Why, Ruth, he is almost like my own
brother. You must never speak of such a thing to

From Kingdom to Colony 197

any one ; for if it came to his ears I 'd surely die of
shame. I marry Hugh Knollys! Why, Ruth, you
must be crazy."

"Ye might do far worse, my lamb." The old
woman did not smile, and her lips narrowed primly,
as though she did not relish having the girl make a
jest of the matter lying so close to her own heart.

" Well, worse or better, I am in no hurry to be
married off, Ruth ; and so don't you have any such
thought of me." And Dorothy shook her curly head
threateningly.

From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER XX

PASHAR had not yet appeared, but Dorothy
set forth upon her return with no thought of
danger or delay.

It was now high noon, and the sun making itself
felt disagreeably, she pushed back the hood of her
red cloak as she entered the wood, the cool wind
coming refreshingly about her bared head while she
walked slowly along with downcast eyes, musing over
this last prophecy of Moll Pitcher.

" Aha, Little Red Ridinghood, have you been, or
are you going, to see your grandmother?"

Dorothy's heart throbbed tumultuously for an
instant. Then she felt cold and half sick, as she
looked up and saw coming from under the trees the
gleam of a scarlet coat, topped by a shapely head
and olive face, whose dark-blue eyes were bent
laughingly upon her.

She stopped, startled and hesitating, not knowing
what to do, while Cornet Southorn came toward her
along the path, his hat swinging from one hand, the
other holding a spray of purple asters.

This he now raised to his forehead, saluting her in
military fashion, as he said with a touch of good-
humored mockery, " Your servant, fair mistress, —
and will you accept my poor escort, to guard you
from the wolf who is waiting to eat Little Red
Ridinghood?"

From Kingdom to Colony 199

A smile now began to dawn about the corners of the
girl's mouth ; but she made an effort to keep it back,
while she replied with an attempt at severity, " There
are no wolves about here, sir, to guard against, save
only such as wear coats of the color you have on."

" If my coat makes me anything so fearsome in
your eyes, I will discard it forever." He had dropped
his tone of playfulness, and now came a step closer,
looking down into her face in a way to make her feel
uneasy, and yet not entirely displeased.

" I have no liking," she said, in the same bantering
manner he had assumed at first, " for those who so
readily change the color of the coat they are in honor
bound to wear."

" It was not an easy thing to contemplate until I
met you," he replied bluntly, and looking at her as if
hoping for some approval of his confession.

This he failed to obtain, for Dorothy only smiled
incredulously as she asked, " Is it kind, think you, to
credit me with so pernicious an influence over His
Majesty's officers?"

"I credit you only with all that is sweetest and
best in a woman," he said with quick impulsiveness.
And coming still nearer to her, he dropped the
flowers and seized one of her hands, while the basket
fell to the ground between them.

" 'T is small matter what you may or may not
credit me with," she answered, with a petulant toss of
her head. " Leave go my hand this minute, sir !
See, you have made me drop my basket ; let me pick
it up, and go my way."

A sudden, curious glance now flashed from his

2OO From Kingdom to Colony

eyes, and looking sharply into her face, he said,
" I thought that perhaps you would like me to go
with you, so that you might shut me up again in
your father's sheep-house."

Dorothy ceased her efforts to withdraw her hands
— for he now held both of them — from his clasp,
and stared up at him in affright.

"Who told you I did?" she gasped. "Who said
so?"

The young man threw back his head and laughed
exultingly.

" Aha, — and so it was really you, you sweet little
rebel ! I was almost certain of it, the morning I
spoke to your father of the matter, and saw the look
that came into your eyes."

" You are hateful ! " she cried, her fear now giving
place to anger. " Let me go, I say, — let go my
hands at once ! " Her eyes were filled with hot
tears, and her cheeks were burning.

" Never, while you ask me in such fashion." And
he tightened his clasp still more. " Listen to me ! "
he exclaimed passionately. " I have been eating my
heart out for dreary weeks because I could see no
chance to have speech with you. I felt that I could
kill the men I 've seen riding with you about the
country. And now that I have this opportunity, I
mean to make the most of it, for who can say when
another will come to me ? "

His words were drying her tears, as might a scorch
ing wind ; and she stood mute, with drooping head.

" Don't be angry with me for what I have said,"
he entreated, " nor because I found it was you who

From Kingdom to Colony 201

played that trick upon me. That prank of yours is
the happiest thing I have to remember. You might
lock me up there every day, and I would only bless
you for being close enough to me to do it."

He stopped and looked at her beseechingly. But
she would not raise her eyes, and stood pushing at
the spray of asters with the tip of her little buckled
shoe, while she asked, " Think you I only find pleas
ure in going about the country to lock folk up ? "

She spoke with perfect seriousness ; and yet there
was that in her look and manner to make his heart
give a great bound.

"I think of nothing, care for nothing," he replied,
almost impatiently, " save that you are the sweetest
little girl I ever met."

Something in his voice made Dorothy glance up
at his face, and she saw his eyes bent upon her lips
with a look that startled her into a fear of what he
might have in his mind to do. So, drawing herself
up, she said with all the dignity she could muster,
" Such speech may perchance be an English custom,
sir; but 'tis not such as gentlemen in our country
think proper to address to a girl they may chance
upon, as you have me."

" Sweet Mistress Dorothy," and he seemed to dwell
lovingly upon her name, " I crave your pardon. I
meant no lightness nor disrespect. And if I have
lost my head, and with it my manners, you have but
to look into your mirror, and you '11 surely see why."

Dorothy knew not how to reply to this bold speech^
and the look that came with it. They made her
angry, and yet she knew that the flush upon her

202 From Kingdom to Colony

cheeks did not come from anger alone, but that a cer
tain undefinable pleasure had much to do with it.
Then came the consciousness that she had no right
to be where she was, and the fear of danger coming
from it And this was sufficient to make her say
with some impatience : " 'T is idle to stand here prat
ing in such fashion. Please release my hands, and
let me go. I should be well on my way home by
now."

He bent his head suddenly, and without a word
kissed her hands. And the burning touch of his lips
made her pulses thrill and her heart beat with what
she knew to be delight, — exultation.

Then, like a rushing flood, reason assailed her con
science, that she should permit a hated redcoat — one
whom she ought to detest — to kiss her hands, and
not feel enraged at his boldness. And so, filled with
indignation, she pulled one hand away, and raising it
quickly, gave his face a ringing slap.

He started back and placed a hand to his cheek,
now showing a more flaming color than her own, and
for a moment his eyes were alight with an angry
glitter. But he said nothing, and bowing low before
her, stood away from the path.

Dorothy picked up her basket, and without glanc
ing toward him passed along on her way. But her
eyes were brimming with tears, which were soon
trickling down her burning cheeks.

What had she done, and what could she do, in this
new, strange matter, of which she might not speak
to her father? How was she to act toward him from
whom she had never yet withheld her confidence?

From Kingdom to Colony 203

And still how could she speak to any one — even
him — of what was giving birth to thoughts and feel
ings such as she had never dreamed of before?

With all this — and in spite of it — came the ques
tion as to what the redcoat would think of her now,

— a maiden who went about at night masquerading
in masculine garb, and who slapped His Majesty's
officers in the face?

There came to her a woful sense of shame, — yes,
of degradation, such as her young life had never im
agined could exist, and seeming to overwhelm her
with its possible results.

She was startled by a sudden footfall close behind
her, and without looking back, she quickened her
pace into a run. But now a strong arm was thrown
about her waist, holding her fast; and she caught a
fiery gleam of the scarlet coat against which her head
was pressed by the hand that, although it trembled
a little, prisoned her cheek with gentle firmness.

Then a mouth was bent close to her ear, so close that
its quick breath fanned the tiny curling locks about
her temples, and a voice whispered: "Sweetheart,
forgive me — for God's love, forgive me ! I cannot
let you go in this way; for see, you are weeping.
Surely this pretence of anger is unjust, — unjust to
you and to me ! "

Before she could speak, the voice went on, " Little
rebel, sweet little rebel, will you not surrender to

— a vanquished victor?" And with this, a kiss was
pressed upon her lips.

At first Dorothy had been too startled to speak, —
too frightened and dumb from the tumult his caress-

204 From Kingdom to Colony

ing voice had aroused within her. But the touch of
his lips awakened her like a blow.

"How dare you?" she cried, struggling from his
arms. "Oh, how I wish I had never seen you ! "

"You can scarce expect me to feel likewise,"
he said calmly, smiling into her stormy little face,
"for I—"

" Never speak to me again ! " she interrupted, still
more hotly. And then, as the tears of anger choked
her voice, she turned from him and fled away down
the path.

For a time she heard him in pursuit; and this
made her run all the swifter, until at last, reaching
the Salem road, she glanced back as she mounted
the low stone wall, and saw that he had stopped
where the timber ended, and stood watching her.
Then without turning to look again, she went quickly
across the sunlit meadow-land.

Her breath came sobbingly ; and mingled with her
terror was a feeling she could not define, but which
told her that life would never be the same for her
again. She still felt the clasp of his arms about her,
the burning of his lips upon her hands, — their
pressure upon her mouth. His voice still came
caressingly to her ears, and the wind seemed to be
his breath over her hair.

It was not long before she saw Pashar coming to
meet her ; and drawing the hood about her face, she
bade him go for the basket she had left in the wood.
Then, without waiting for him to return with it, she
hastened directly to her father's house.

She reached her own room without having encoun-

From Kingdom to Colony 205

tered any of the household, and throwing off her
cloak went to the glass. There, resting her elbows
on the low, broad shelf, and dropping her soft round
chin into her small palms, she seemed to be studying
what the mirror showed to her, — studying it with as
much interest as though she now saw the reflection
of her features for the first time.

" You are a wicked, treacherous girl," she said
aloud, addressing the charming face staring back at
her with great solemn eyes, " a perfect little traitor."
Then — but now to herself — "Moll said his heart
turned toward me as the flowers to the sun. And if
this be true, why is it not also truth that sorrow is to
come with it? " She shivered, and pressed her hands
over her eyes.

" Cousin Dot ! " called a small voice outside the
locked door.

" Yes, 'Bitha." Dorothy started guiltily, and made
haste to dash some water over her glowing face and
tell-tale eyes.

" Aunt Lettice says the meal is ready," came the
announcement from without; " and Hugh Knollys is
below with Uncle Joseph."

Dorothy felt thankful for this, as a guest at dinner
would serve the better to divert attention from her
self; and making a hasty toilette, she descended to
the dining-room.

She found them all at the table, with Hugh at her
father's right hand, and directly opposite her own
place. The young man arose as she entered the
room, and responded with his usual heartiness to the
greeting she tendered him. But with it all he gave

206 From Kingdom to Colony

her so odd a look as to make her wonder if he saw
aught amiss in her appearance.

The two men resumed their talk of public matters
and the town's doings, and were soon so absorbed
that Dorothy was able to remain as silent as she
could have wished.

It had been resolved not to import, either directly
or indirectly, any goods from Great Britain or Ireland
after the first of the coming December. And in case
the tyrannical decrees of the mother country should
not be repealed by the loth of the following Septem
ber, it was agreed that no commodities whatever
should be exported to Great Britain, Ireland, or the
British West Indies.

This would bring about an embarrassing state of
affairs for both the men who were now discussing the
matter, as they, like many others in the town, had
derived a considerable income from such exporting.

" But we '11 stand shoulder to shoulder, Hugh,"
said Joseph Devereux, firmly, "if so be we forfeit
every penny, until the oppressors give us fair dealings
or we drive every redcoat from our soil. I will kill
every cow and sheep — aye, and every horse as well,
and cut down every stick o' timber on my land, for
the keeping of us and our friends fed and warmed,
but that I will maintain the stand I Ve pledged
myself to keep."

" Let us hope, sir, that the redcoats will not first
seize your cattle," said Hugh, his eyes fixed gravely
upon the abstracted young face opposite him. " I
met Trent as I was riding along the pastures, and he
told me the sheep had escaped through a broken

From Kingdom to Colony 207

place in the fence of the ten-acre lot, and he had a
chase after them to Riverhead Beach. He said he
met a party of soldiers there, and they deliberately
took one of the sheep from under his very nose, and
carried it off with them to the Neck. And when he
remonstrated with them, they only laughed at him,
and told him to send the bill to the King for the
dinner they would have."

The old man's eyes flashed with anger as he
listened to this.

" It is an outrage ! " he exclaimed when Hugh had
finished, — " to steal stock under our very eyes. I
must see Trent about the matter, and the cattle must
be kept nigh the house."

"Why not take them by boatloads over to the
islands till the redcoats be gone, as has been done
before, for pasturage?" The suggestion came from
Aunt Lettice, and was made rather timidly.

" You were never cut out for a farmer's wife, Let
tice, my dear," her brother-in-law replied, a good-
humored smile now breaking over his face, " else
you 'd remember there is no pasturage there at this
time o' year. And I doubt if they 'd be so safe on
the islands as here, for Trent and the men would
have to go each day with fodder for them, and the
soldiers' spying eyes would be sure to note the com
ing and going o* the boats. No," he added with
decision, " I shall have the flocks kept penned, nigh
the house ; and I shall make complaint o' this matter
to the Governor. As for the rest," and he smiled
grimly, " I take it our guns can protect ourselves and
our property."

208 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER XXI

HUGH KNOLLYS was so much a member of
the household that Aunt Lettice thought noth
ing of going her own way when dinner was over and
leaving him in the living-room with Dorothy; and the
two now sat on one of the low, broad window-seats,
watching Joseph Devereux as he went out of doors
in search of Trent, with 'Bitha dancing along beside
him.

" How fast 'Bitha is growing ! " Hugh remarked.
" She will soon be taller than you, Dot. Although,
to be sure," he added with a laugh, " that is not
saying very much."

Dorothy did not reply. Indeed it would seem that
she had not heard him ; and now he laid his hand
softly upon one of her own to arouse her attention
as he called her by name.

At this she started, and turned her face to him.

" What, Hugh — what is it? " she asked confusedly.

His smiling face became sober at once, and a
curious intentness crept into his blue eyes while he
and Dorothy looked at each other without speaking.
Then he asked deliberately, " Of what were you
dreaming just now, Dot?"

A burning blush deepened the color in her cheeks,
and her eyes fell before those that seemed to be
searching her very thoughts.

From Kingdom to Colony 209

"Shall I make a guess?" he said, a strange thrill
now creeping into his voice and causing her to lift
her eyes again. " Were you dreaming of that young
redcoat you were walking with this morning? "

She sprang to her feet and faced him, her eyes
blazing, and her slight form trembling with anger.

" I was not walking with any such," she replied
hotly. " How dare you say so?"

" Because it so appeared as I came along the
Salem road," was his calm answer. " I saw him on
one side of the road leaning against the stone wall,
and watching you, as you went from the wall on the
opposite side, and across your father's lot. His eyes
were fixed upon you as though he were never going
to look away; indeed he never saw nor heard me
until my horse was directly in front of him."

Dorothy was now looking down at the floor, and
made no reply.

After waiting a moment for her to speak, Hugh
took both her hands and held them close, while he
said with an earnestness that seemed almost solemn
in its intensity : " Don't deceive me, Dot. Don't tell
me aught that is not true, when you can trust me
to defend you and your happiness with my life, if
needs be."

His words comforted her in a way she could not
explain. And yet they startled her; for she was
still too much of a child, and Hugh Knollys had
been too long a part of her every-day life, for her to
suspect how it really was with him."

" I was not intending to tell you any untruth,
Hugh. But — I was not walking with him."

14

210 From Kingdom to Colony

The anger had now gone from her eyes, and she
left her hands to lie quietly in his clasp. But she
had not forgotten the warm pressure of those other
hands in whose keeping they had been that same
morning.

"Had you not seen him, Dot?" Hugh asked,
looking keenly into her face.

At this her whole nature was up in rebellion, for she
could not brook his pursuing the matter farther, after
what she had already told him.

" Let go my hands ! " she exclaimed angrily. " Let
me go ! You have no right to question me as to my
doings."

He dropped her hands at once, and rising to his
feet, turned his back to her, and looked out of the
window. A mighty flood of jealousy was surging
through his brain ; and that which he had so long
repressed was struggling hard to uproot itself from
the secret depths, — where he was striving to hide
it from her knowledge — and burst forth in fierce
words from his lips.

Had this hated Britisher dared to steal into the
sacred place of the child's heart, which he himself,
from a sense of honor, was bound to make no effort
to penetrate? The mere suspicion of such a thing
was maddening.

Dorothy glanced at him. How big and angry he
looked, standing there with tightly folded arms, his
lips compressed, and his brows contracted into a
deep scowl ! How unlike he was to the sunny-faced
Hugh Knollys who had been her companion since
childhood ! *

From Kingdom to Colony 2 1 1

" Don't be angry with me, Hugh," she pleaded
softly, venturing timidly to touch his shoulder.

He whirled about so suddenly as to startle her, and
she fell back a pace, her wondering eyes staring at
the set white face before her.

" I am not angry, Dot," he said, letting his arms
drop from their clasping; " I am only — hurt." And
he slowly resumed his place upon the window-seat.

" I don't wish to hurt you, Hugh," Dorothy de
clared, as she sat down by him again.

He seemed to make an effort to smile, as he asked,
"Don't you?"

" No, I do not." And now her voice began to
gather a little asperity. "But you do not seem
to consider that you said aught to hurt me, as
well."

He took her hand and stroked it gently.

" You know well, Dot," he said, " that I 'd not hurt
you by word or deed. And it is only when I think
you are doing what is like to hurt yourself, that I
make bold to speak as I did just now."

Dorothy was silent, but her brain was busy. The
thought had come to her that she must bind him by
some means, — make it certain that he should not
speak of this matter to her brother. And a wild im
pulse — one she did not stop to question — urged
her to see that the young soldier was not brought
to any accounting for whatever he had done.

She wondered how much Hugh might know, and
how much was only suspicion, — surmise. And with
the intent to satisfy herself as to this, she said, "Just
because you saw a redcoat watching me, as you

212 From Kingdom to Colony

thought, and at a distance, you forthwith accuse me
of walking with him."

She spoke with a fine show of impatience and
reproof, but still permitting him to hold and caress
her hand.

" Aye, Dot, but there be redcoats and redcoats.
And this one happened to be that yellow-faced
gallant we are forever meeting, the one you — "

She interrupted him. " I know what you mean.
But I tell you truly, Hugh, I had not been walking
with him, nor did I know he was by the stone wall
looking after me, as you say."

" And you had not seen him ? " Hugh asked, now
beginning to appear more like himself, and bending
his smiling face down to look at her.

But the smile vanished, as he met her faltering
eyes.

" Don't tell me, Dot, if you 'd sooner not ; only
know that you can trust me, if you will, and I '11 never
fail you, — never ! "

These words, and the way they were spoken, settled
all her doubts, and clasping her other hand over his,
that still held her own, she burst forth impetuously :
" Oh, I will tell you, Hugh. Only you '11 promise me
that you '11 never tell of it, not even to Jack."

The young man hesitated, but only for a second,
as the sweet prospect of a secret between them —
one to be shared by no other, not even her idolized
brother — swept away all other thoughts.

" I promise that I '11 tell no one, Dot, — not even
Jack."

He spoke slowly and guardedly, the better to hide

From Kingdom to Colony 213

the mad beating of his heart, and the effort he was
making to restrain himself from taking her in his
arms and telling her what she was to him.

Dorothy uttered a little sigh, as if greatly relieved.
Then she said with an air of perfect frankness : "Well,
Hugh, I did see him — up in the wood, as I was
coming from old Ruth's. He spoke to me, and I ran
away from him."

"What did he say?" Hugh demanded quickly.

" Oh, I cannot remember, — he startled me so. I
was dreadfully frightened, although I am sure he
meant no harm."

"No harm," Hugh repeated wrathfully. "It was
sufficient harm for him to dare speak to you at all."

"No, but it was not," the girl declared emphati
cally. " He and I are acquainted, you know — after
a fashion. It was not the first time he has spoken to
me, nor I to him, for that matter."

Hugh's blue eyes flashed with anger.

" I have a great mind to make it the last ! " he
exclaimed with hot indignation, and half starting
from his seat.

But Dorothy pushed him back. " Now mark this,
Hugh Knollys," she said warningly, — " if you say
aught to him, and so make me the subject of un
seemly brawling, I'll never speak to you again, — no,
not the longest day we both live ! " And she
brought her small clenched fist down with enforcing
emphasis upon Hugh's broad palm.

"What a little spitfire you are, Dot!" And he
smiled at her once more.

" Spitfire, is it? You seem to have a plentiful

214 From Kingdom to Colony

supply of compliments for me this day." She spoke
almost gayly, pleased as she was to have diverted
him so easily.

He was now staring at her with a new expression
in his eyes, and appeared to be turning over some
matter in his mind; and Dorothy remained silent,
wondering what it might be.

" Dorothy," he said presently, and very gravely,
" I wonder will you promise me something? "

" I must know first what it is." She was smiling,
and yet wishing he would not look at her in such a
strange way ; she had never known before that his
frank, good-natured face could wear so sober an
aspect.

" I wish you would 'promise me that you '11 keep
out of this fellow's way, — that you '11 never permit
him to hold any converse with you, and, above all,
when no one else is by."

" I '11 promise no such thing," she answered
promptly, and with a look of defiance.

" And why not? " he asked in the same grave way,
and with no show of being irritated by her quick
refusal. Indeed he now spoke even more gently than
before.

" Because," she replied, " it is a silly thing to ask.
He is a gentleman ; and I do not feel bound to fly
from before him like a guilty thing, or as though I
were not able to take care of myself. Besides, we are
not like to meet again — he and I."

Her voice sank at the last words, as though she
were speaking them to herself — and it had a touch of
wistfulness or of regret.

From Kingdom to Colony 215

This set Hugh to scowling once more. But he
said nothing, and sat toying in an abstracted fashion
with her small, soft fingers.

The desire to plead his own cause was again-
strong upon him, and he was wondering if he might
not in some way sound the depths of her feeling,
toward him, without violating the pledge which,
although unspoken by his lips, he knew her brother
— his own dearest friend — assumed to have been
given.

He was aroused from these speculations by a
question from Dorothy.

"You will never speak to him of me in any manner,
will you, Hugh?" she asked coaxingly.

"Speak to whom?" he inquired in turn. Then,
noting the embarrassment in her eyes, he muttered
something — and not altogether a blessing — upon
Cornet Southern.

" But you '11 — promise me you '11," she insisted.

"And if I promise?" he asked slowly. He was
looking into her face, thinking how sweet her lips
were, and wishing he could throw honor to the winds
and kiss them — just once, while they were so close
to his own.

"There is nothing," she declared with a sudden
impulse, " that I will not do for you in return ! "

" Nothing ! " A reckless light was now grow
ing in his eyes. "Are you sure, Dot, there is
nothing?"

" No, nothing I can do," she affirmed. But she
could not help remarking his eagerness and illy re
pressed excitement, and felt that she must keep her-

216 From Kingdom to Colony

self on guard against a possible demonstration, —
something whose nature she could not foresee.

The young man was still looking fixedly at her.
But now he let go her hands and sprang to his feet.

" I '11 make no bargain with you, Dot," he said
excitedly. " I hate this man, and have from the very
first, and I hope I '11 have the good fortune before
many days to meet him face to face, in fair fight.
But I promise, as you ask it, that I '11 seek no quarrel
with him. And even had you not asked, I 'd surely
never have mentioned your name to him."

"Thank you." Dorothy spoke very quietly; and
before he could know of her intention she snatched
his hand and kissed it.

She did it so suddenly and quickly that he knew
not what to say or do. He felt the hot blood rush
to his face, and found himself trembling from the
storm aroused within him by her caress.

Before he could speak, she was on her feet along
side him, smiling up into his burning face, and saying,
" You are a good friend to me, Hugh, and I '11 not
forget it." Then, as she laid her hand on his arm,
" Come, I will play something for you ; I feel just in
the humor for it."

He followed her into the drawing-room, where a
huge wood-fire leaped and crackled on the hearth.
She bade him be seated in a big chair in front of the
dancing flames, and then went over and perched
herself upon the bench — roomy enough to hold
three Dorothys — before the spinet.

A moment later and there stole from beneath the
skilful touch of her fingers one of those quaint melo-

From Kingdom to Colony 217

dies of which we in this generation know nothing,
save as they have come down to us through the ear
alone, never having been put upon paper.

Hugh Knollys sat and watched her, noting the
pretty curves of her cheeks and throat, — the firm
white neck, so small and round, with the wayward
hair breaking into rebellious little curls at the nape, —
the slender wrists, and small, snowy hands.

None of these escaped him, as he sat a little back
of her, his hungry eyes absorbing each charming
detail. He thought what a blessed thing it would be,
could she and he always be together, and alone, like
this, with peace smiling once more over the land,
and they happy in the society of each other.

The music seemed to fit exactly into his present
mood, and he sat motionless for a time, listening to
it. Then, scarcely conscious of what he was doing,
he arose to his feet; and as the final cadence died
softly away, he was in a chair beside the bench, with
his arm clasping Dorothy's waist.

She turned a startled face, to find his own bending
close to her, and with a look in it such as she had
never before known it to hold.

" Dorothy," and his voice was almost a whisper,
"you care more for me than for the Britisher? "

An alarmed suspicion of the truth came to her.
She saw a new meaning in all he had said, in what
she had beheld in his face and manner ; and realiz
ing this, she sat white and motionless, her fingers
still resting upon the keys.

He now bent his head, and she was frightened to
feel tears dropping on her wrist.

2i 8 From Kingdom to Colony

She was possessed by a wild desire to fly, — to get
away from him. But she found herself unable to
stir, and sat rigid, feeling as if turned to marble, while
his arm was still lying loosely about her waist.

Then his hand stole up, and his fingers clasped
her hand.

"Oh, my God," — his voice was hoarse and
choked — "I cannot endure it ! "

At this, there came to the girl a flash of remem
brance from that same morning. She seemed to feel
the arm of the young soldier around her, and to see
the scarlet-clad breast against which her head was
pressed so tenderly. A feeling as of treacherous
dealing with his faith and with her own rushed upon
her, and she struggled to get away.

" Are you gone daft, Hugh Knollys," she cried
angrily, "or whatever ails you?"

He arose shamefacedly, and stood mute. But as
she moved off, he stretched out a hand to detain
her.

"Wait, — wait but a moment, Dot," he begged.
" Don't leave me in such fashion. Don't be angry
with me."

" Are you mad ? " she demanded again, and with
no less impatience, although pausing beside him.

" Aye, I think I must be," he admitted, now speak
ing more naturally, and trying to smile down into
the small face, still glowing with indignation, so far
beneath his own.

" So it would seem," she said coldly, and in no wise
softened. " I ne'er expected such a thing from you."

" Never mind, Dot, — forget it," he pleaded, now

From Kingdom to Colony 219

full of penitence. " I 've a great trouble on my mind
just now, and your music seemed to bring it all to me
with a new rushing."

Dorothy's face changed in a second, and became
filled with sympathy.

" Oh, Hugh, I am so sorry," she said with quick
solicitude, taking him by the hand. " Don't you want
to tell me about it? Mayhap I can help you." Her
anxiety about this unknown trouble had lulled to
sleeping her suspicions as to the reason for his
outbreak.

He smiled, — but sadly, grimly. " I '11 tell you some
day," he said, " and we will see if you can help me.
But we '11 be better friends than ever after this, won't
we, Dot?" His eyes had been searching her face in
nervous wonder, as if to assure himself that he had
not told her aught of his secret, — the secret his honor
forbade him to reveal.

"Yes, Hugh, I am sure we shall be." Dorothy
said it with a warmth that set his mind at rest.

" And you '11 let no redcoats, nor any coats —
whate'er be their color — come betwixt us?" he
added, with a touch of his old playfulness.

" No, never ! " And there was a sincerity and
firmness in her answer that warmed his very
heart.

"Thank you, Dot," he said, lifting her fingers to
his lips. " And thank God ! " he muttered as he re
leased her hand, saying it in a way to make Dorothy
feel uncomfortable in the thought that perhaps she
had pledged herself to something more than she had
intended.

220 From Kingdom to Colony

Just here Aunt Lettice came into the room. " Leet
has returned from the town," she announced, full of
excitement, " and says that Mugford's wife has at last
prevailed upon the English officers to release him."

"Can this be true?" inquired the young man, in
stantly alert, and quite his natural self again.

" So Leet says ; and that Mugford is now in the
town, with every one rejoicing over him." And she
poked the fire with great energy, sending a thousand
sparkles of flame dancing up the wide chimney.

" How happy his poor wife must be ! " was Dorothy's
comment, as she stooped to pick up 'Bitha's kitten,
which had followed Aunt Lettice, and was now dart
ing at the steel buckles on the girl's shoes, where the
bright fire was reflected in flickerings most inviting to
kittenish eyes and gambols.

" I think I '11 ride over to town and see Mugford,"
said Hugh. " I want to congratulate him upbn his
escape."

He glanced at Dorothy, as if half expecting her to
speak, as he had just declined Aunt Lettice's urgent
invitation that he return for supper, saying that his
mother was looking for him before evening.

But all Dorothy said was, " Here come father and
'Bitha." And she walked over toward the window.

Hugh followed her, and said in a low voice, not
meant for Aunt Lettice's ears, "You'll not forget our
compact, Dot, and your promise? "

" No," she answered, smiling at him ; " nor will
you yours?"

" Never ! " He pressed the hand she extended to
him, and then hurried away.

From Kingdom to Colony 221

Joseph Devereux met him on the porch, and they
stood talking for a few minutes, while 'Bitha came
within, her cheeks ruddy from the nipping air.

" Leet is back," she said, as she entered the draw
ing-room ; " but Uncle Joseph says it is too cold for
us to take so late a ride over to see Mistress Knollys."

" So it is, 'Bitha," Dorothy assented. " But we '11
go to the kitchen, and ask Tyntie to let us make
some molasses pull."

She was, for the moment, a child again, with all
perplexing thoughts of redcoats and Hugh Knollys
banished from her mind.

222 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER XXII

ALL the outdoor world seemed encased in bur
nished silver, as the new moon of early
December came up from the black bed of the
ocean's far-out rim, and mounting high and higher
in the pale flush yet lingering from the gorgeous
sunset, brought out sparklings from the snow drifted
over the fields and fences of the old town.

The roads were transformed into pavements of
glittering mosaics and pellucid crystals; and all
about the Devereux house the meadow lands
stretched away like a shining sea whose waves had
suddenly congealed, catching and holding jewels in
their white depths.

Dorothy was looking out at the beauty of it all,
her face close to the pane her warm breath dimmed
now and then, compelling her to raise a small hand
to make it clear again for her vision.

It was her brother's wedding night. And the girl
was very fair and sweet to look upon, in her soft pink
gown, with its dainty laces and ribbons, as she stood
there awaiting the others ; for they were all to drive
into town, to the house of Mistress Horton, where
the marriage was to be celebrated.

Nicholson Broughton was away from his home,
enforced to tarry near Cambridge, where several of
his townsmen were holding weighty conclaves which

From Kingdom to Colony 223

it was important for him to attend. But he had
urged John Devereux to make no delay in the cere
mony, feeling that his daughter, once wedded, and an
established member of the family at the Devereux
farm, would be happier, as well as safer, now that
riots in the town were becoming more frequent and
fierce.

Hugh Knollys also was absent, having undertaken
an important mission in the neighborhood of Boston.

Only the young man himself knew how eagerly
he had desired to be given this responsibility, as a
reason for being away. For as the time drew near
for his friend's wedding, he feared to trust his self-
control should he find himself again in Dorothy's
presence.

And then, besides, the hated redcoats were still on
the Neck, and several of the officers, among them
Cornet Southern, having accepted more comfortable
quarters at Jameson's house, Hugh thought it the
wiser course to remove himself from the vicinity for
a time.

It seemed as though these two young men were
continually meeting one another on the roads and
byways of the town and its neighborhood. And the
sight of the stalwart form dashing along upon a
spirited horse, — of the handsome face and reckless
eyes, raised in Hugh a fierce desire to lay them
in the dust through the medium of an enforced
quarrel.

Dorothy had been by Hugh's side at several of
these encounters ; and it had made him heartsick to
see the fluttered way in which her eyes would turn

224 From Kingdom to Colony

from the young Britisher after meeting his ardent
gaze, and how for a time she would be uneasy and
abstracted, resisting all attempts to gain her attention.

But he bravely held his own counsel, and since
that memorable day in October had never mentioned
the Englishman's name, nor made any allusion to
him or his doings.

As for Dorothy, she had gone about all these days
with a face grave almost to sadness ; and it was well
for her own peace that the others of the family
ascribed her altered mien to jealousy, thinking that
her exacting heart found it a hard matter to share
her adored brother with another whom he reckoned
more precious than her own spoiled self.

Her musings were now disturbed by Jack coming
into the room.

He looked the brave soldier in his new regimentals,
— a round jacket and breeches of blue cloth, with
trimmings of leather buttons ; and his dark handsome
face was aglow with happiness.

His curling locks were gathered at the back of the
neck, and tied with a black watered-silk ribbon ; and
in his hand was a broad-brimmed hat, caught up on
one side, as was the fashion, and adorned with a
cockade of blue ribbons belonging to his sweetheart.

" Ah, Dot, and so you are here ! Leet is at the
door, child, and Aunt Lettice and 'Bitha are with
father, in the drawing-room, all ready to start. Come,
get your cloak, and let us be off."

He was close beside her as she turned from the
window ; and thinking he saw the sparkle of tears in
her eyes, he laid a detaining hand on her arm.

From Kingdom to Colony 225

" You must be happy to-night, Dot," he said, " for
my sake. I should like all the world to be so, and
you, my little sister, more than all the rest."

She let him kiss her on the cheek, but stood silent,
with lowered eyes.

" What is it, child, — don't you rejoice with me,
when I am happier than ever before in my life?"

He gently took her chin in his hand and raised
her downcast face. In an instant her arms were
clasped about his neck and her head buried against
his breast.

Just then they heard Aunt Lettice, in the hall,
calling as if she supposed Dorothy to be above
stairs.

" Come, Dot," urged her brother, — " they are
waiting for us, and we must be off." And kissing
her, he quietly unclasped her clinging arms.

At this she drew herself away from him, and fixing
her eyes searchingly upon his face, said, " You are
so happy, Jack, are n't you, because you and Mary
love each other? "

" Why, surely," he replied, wondering at the words,
and at her way of speaking them. But he smiled as
he looked into her troubled face.

" Do you not think, Jack," she asked, still with
that strange look in her eyes, " that when love comes
in, it changes all of one's world?"

He now laughed outright. But she paid no atten
tion to his gayety, going on in away to have troubled
him had he been less selfishly happy at the moment,
" If you know this so well, Jack, you will never cease
to love me, if ever love comes to change my own

15

226 From Kingdom to Colony

world, the same as it has yours? No matter what
you may feel is wrong about it, you will not blame
me?"

"Why, Dot, little girl, whatever are you dream
ing about, — what should make you talk in this
way? " And he looked at her with real anxiety.

But she only laughed, and passing her hand across
her eyes, answered nervously, " I don't know, Jack,
— I was but thinking on future possibilities."

" Rather upon the most remote impossibilities," he
said laughingly. "But come, child, think no more
of anything but this, — that 't is high time for you to
put on your cloak and come to see your brother take
unto himself a wife, who is to be your own dear
sister."

" I am glad it is Mary Broughton," Dorothy said
quietly, as she took her cloak from a chair.

" So am I," he laughed, as he wrapped the warm
garment about her, shutting away all her pink sweet
ness with its heavy folds. Then, while he helped her
to draw the hood over her curly head, " What if it
were Polly Chine, now?"

" Then," she answered with an odd smile, " you
would have to fight Hugh Knollys."

They were passing through the door, and he said
with a keen glance at her, " I Ve good cause to know
better than that, Dot."

But she gave no heed to this, and they joined the
others outside.

The old family sleigh moved sedately along the
hard, snow-packed road, the moon making a shadowy,
grotesque mass of it along the high drifts, while Leet,

From Kingdom to Colony 227

enveloped in furs, sat soberly erect, full of the im
portance now attaching to him.

When they were well on their way, a body of
mounted Britishers swept by, evidently bound for the
town ; and Joseph Devereux remarked to his son, as
the two sat opposite one another, while Dorothy,
riding backwards with her brother, seemed lost in
the contemplation of the snowy fields they were
passing, " I trust, Jack, those fellows will stir up no
trouble this night."

" They are most likely to do so," was the low-
spoken reply ; " for you know the mere sight of their
red coats acts upon our men much as the like color
affects an angry bull."

" I wish they might be ordered from the Neck,"
observed Aunt Lettice, who sat alongside her brother-
in-law, and had caught enough to guess at the rest
of the talk.

"They must wish so themselves, by this time,"
Jack said with a laugh. " It must now be rarely cold
quarters for them over there."

"Why did you not ask them to your wedding,
Cousin Jack?"

The question came from small 'Bitha, who was
sitting between Dorothy and her brother. " I wonder
if the one Mary pushed over the rocks last summer
would not like to see her married? "

" 'Bitha ! " Dorothy exclaimed sharply, seeming
to awaken to what was being said. " Why will you
always put it so? Mary did not push him over; he
fell himself."

" Aye, — but, Cousin Dot, he fell over while he

228 From Kingdom to Colony

was stepping back from her," the child answered.
" She looked so angry that I think he was sorely
frightened."

Dorothy did not reply ; but her brother said gayly,
" Well, 'Bitha, I hope Mary will never look at me in
a way to frighten me so much as that."

" She never would," 'Bitha asserted with con
fidence, " for you are not a Britisher."

" What a stanch little rebel it is," Joseph Devereux
said laughingly; and Jack went on in a teasing way
to 'Bitha, " I expect we shall all go to see 'Bitha
married to a redcoat as soon as she is big enough."

" You will see no such thing, Cousin Jack," the
child replied angrily. " I 'd run away, so that no
one could ever find me, before I 'd do such a thing.
Would not you, Cousin Dorothy? "

Dorothy did not answer, and 'Bitha repeated the
question.

"Would I do what, 'Bitha?" Dorothy now asked,
but indifferently, and as though with the object of
quieting the child.

" Why, marry a redcoat? "

" Nonsense, 'Bitha, — don't let Jack tease you."
And Dorothy turned away again to look off over the
snow fields through which they were passing. But
she wondered if the others noticed how oddly her
voice sounded, and what a tremble there was in it.

The Horton house loomed up full of importance
from amid its darker fellows, and warm lights
twinkled out here and there where a parted curtain
let them through to shine forth like welcoming smiles
into the cold night.

From Kingdom to Colony 229

Within there was much bustle and good-natured
badinage, as the neighbors, bidden to the feast,
assisted the people of the house, — playing the part
of entertainer or caterer, hairdresser or maid, as
the needs of the other guests demanded.

It was a simple, homely wedding, as was the
custom of the day ; and the festivities were enjoyed
with all the more zest by reason of the relief they
offered from the anxiety felt by all, on account of the
disturbed condition of public affairs.

There were games — such as "Twirl the Trencher"
and " Hunt the Slipper " — for those who liked them ;
and the elders endeavored to enter at least into the
spirit of all that was going on, and not dampen the
younger folks' pleasure by the exhibition of gloomy
faces and constrained actions.

Later in the evening there was dancing. And it
was a goodly sight to look at the handsome groom
and his lovely bride go through the stately minuet,
with his father and Aunt Lettice opposite them, — the
slow, dignified step making the feat a no-wise difficult
one for the old gentleman, who had in his day been
accounted one of the most graceful of dancers.

Dorothy acted for a time as though she were made
of quicksilver. She was leader in all the games
and frolics, and seemed the very impersonation of
happy, laughter-loving girlhood. Then, and with
out any apparent reason, another and different
mood took possession of her, and she suddenly be
came very quiet, taking but little part in what was
going on.

Her father's fond eyes were quick to notice this ;

230 From Kingdom to Colony

but when he hastened to draw her to one side and ask
for the cause, she made light of his anxiety, and gave
him a smiling assurance of her perfect well-being.

As a matter of fact, something had occurred to
disturb the girl very seriously.

During one of the games she had been alone for a
few minutes in a room facing upon the side yard, — a
small orchard; and chancing to glance toward the
window, she saw, as if pressed against the glass, the
face of Cornet Southern.

While she stood, silent and rigid, staring at it, the
face disappeared ; and some of the other guests now
entering the room, she slipped away to recover her
composure.

What, she asked herself, did he seek, and why
was he here? She dismissed at once the thought of
his meaning any harm, for surely he would not bring
about any disturbance upon this, her brother's wed
ding night. And even should he seek to intrude
himself upon them, there could be no just cause to
warrant such an act, for although the King might
expect to enforce the Acts of his Parliament, he had
not as yet sought to control the marrying or giving
in marriage of his American subjects.

But even so, she was startled, almost alarmed;
and the matter rilled her thoughts for the remainder
of the evening.

It had been arranged that Aunt Lettice and 'Bitha
were to remain with the Hortons for a time, while
Joseph Devereux was to accept the invitation of his
friend, Colonel Lee, to pass a few days at the latter's
house, not far away.

From Kingdom to Colony 231

This would make the bride and groom the only
ones who would return with Leet to the farm, as
Dorothy was going to the home of a girl friend, feel
ing that it would be a relief to be among new faces
and in a strange house.

" Dorothy, are you going to let me be a good sister
to you, — one of the sort you will come to with all
your joys and troubles?"

The two girls were standing close to each other in
one of the upper rooms, where Mary was donning a
dark gray slip pelisse and hood, with warm fur linings
peeping about the edges, while Mistress Horton was
bustling about out of earshot, getting some last stray
articles bundled for their conveyance to the sleigh
waiting below.

The earnest blue eyes were bent searchingly upon
Dorothy's face, as if the speaker had more than a
passing notion of the impulses stirring the heart lying
beneath the laces of the dainty pink gown.

But Dorothy laughed, albeit a little constrainedly,
and replied, " I thought you knew all about that
long ago, Mary."

" Do you know, Dot," — and Mary's white brows
contracted into a puzzled frown — " somehow you are
changed. What is it, dear?"

" Your imaginings, I should say," was the careless
reply. " My hair is not turning gray, is it?" And
she touched her dark curls.

" Well, never mind now," said Mary, diplomatically,
and not caring to press the matter, " but you will tell
me when we are together again, won't you, Dot? "

Dorothy only smiled, and said nothing

232 From Kingdom to Colony

Jack had spoken to Mary more than once of some
change that had come over his sister. But his words
were not needed, as she herself, not having seen
much of the girl these last few months, would have
observed it had he not spoken.

Dorothy was as impulsive and affectionate as of old,
but to Mary's keen eyes there now seemed a new-born
womanliness about her. She was sensible of the
absence of that childish frankness and ingenuousness
which had been so much a part of the girl's nature.
She was now more like a woman, and one whose
mind held a secret she herself tried to evade, as well
as have others blind to its existence.

It was as if a new self had been born, dominating
the old self, and sending her thoughts far from where
her body might be.

" She must be in love with some one, and 't is sure
to be Hugh Knollys," said Mary to herself, with a
glow of happiness, as the two went downstairs, Mis
tress Horton and a servant following them, both
laden with packages to be stowed away in the Deve-
reux equipage, whereon Leet sat rigidly upright,
the darkness hiding his black face and its unusual
grin.

"Take good care of her, Strings," Joseph Deve-
reux cautioned, as he took his place within the
vehicle, and pointing to the open doorway, where a
pink gown and dark curly head showed foremost
amongst the guests crowded there to see the bride
and groom on their way. The pedler — an humble
onlooker at the wedding — had urged his protection
for Dorothy's safer piloting through the town to her

From Kingdom to Colony 233

friend's house ; and this her father and brother had
been glad to accept.

"That I will, sir, — never fear," was the hearty
response ; and as Jack Devereux sprang into the
sleigh, Leet turned the horses' heads to the street and
drove off, followed by a shower of old shoes and
peals of merry laughter from the doorway.

234 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER XXIII

THE town was as silent as a city of the dead
when the four started on their way, Master
Storms — a fussy, irritable old gentleman — in
advance, with his pretty daughter Patience hanging
on his arm, and followed closely by the small erect
figure of Dorothy, wrapped in her dark cloak ; while
Johnnie Strings, on guard against any unseen danger,
walked directly behind her.

There were hurrying masses of cloud overhead
that made gorges and ravines, hemming in the glit
tering stars, now grown brighter since the moon had
set; and the sound of the sea came faintly hoarse, as
the little party bent their steps in its direction. For
near it lay the Storms domicile, — up near what was
known as " Idler's Hill."

Suddenly a wild uproar broke out upon the night,
coming from ahead of them ; and Master Storms
bringing his daughter to a halt, Dorothy and the
pedler came up with them.

They all stood listening. There were the shouts
and cries of a not-to-be-mistaken street fight ; and the
turmoil was becoming more distinct, as though the
combatants were approaching.

Patience urged her father to hurry on towards their
house ; but he hesitated.

"What think you is amiss, Johnnie Strings?" he
inquired nervously, fidgeting from one foot to the

From Kingdom to Colony 235

other, while his terrified daughter tugged at his
arm.

"Usual trouble, I guess," drawled the pedler.
" Redcoats paradin' the streets, and gettin' sassy."
Then turning to Dorothy, he said, " Had n't ye best
let me take ye back, Mistress Dorothy?"

Before she could answer him a small body of
soldiers issued from a side street near by. A waver
ing, yelling crowd of angered men swept forward to
meet them ; and the two girls and their escorts found
themselves in the midst of a struggling, shouting
mass, with here and there a horseman looming up,
whose headgear, faintly outlined in the uncertain
light, proved him to be a British dragoon.

Master Storms seized his daughter by the arm, and
taking advantage of an opening he saw in the crowd,
darted through and sped with the girl down a narrow
alley. But the pedler, trying to follow with Dorothy,
was baffled by a number of the combatants closing in
around them.

He shouted lustily for them to make a passage for
himself and his charge ; but although he was known
to many of them, rage, and the lust of battle, seemed
to dull their ears to his voice.

In the midst of it all he was felled to the ground ;
and with no thought of tarrying to find out if he were
hurt, Dorothy, seeing a small opening in the mass of
men, dashed through it, with the intention of making
her way back to the Hortons'.

She had gone only a short distance when her path
was barred by several horsemen, who seemed to be
the leaders of the troop. They had fought their way

236 From Kingdom to Colony

to a clearer space, and were looking back as though
for their followers to join them.

" Devils — fools/' panted one. " They deserve to
be wiped out."

" Aye," said another. " If we might use our
weapons as we liked, I, for one, would take pleasure
in having a hand at that game."

Dorothy attempted to glide by them, hoping that
the dark color of the cloak she wore would save her
from detection. But the voice of the first speaker
called out gayly, "Aha, who goes there? Stop,
pretty one, and give the countersign."

" Or, if indeed you be a pretty one, we '11 take a
kiss instead, and call it a fair deal," laughed another,
as flippantly as if the night were not being rent with
the uproar of the fighting mob just behind them.

Dorothy came to a standstill, and for the instant
was uncertain which way to turn. Then she resolved
to pursue the road she had taken, and said spiritedly,
" Stand aside, and let me pass out of hearing of such
insults, or it may be the worse for you."

She lifted her head as she spoke ; and as the rays
of a near-by lamp fell upon her face, one of the riders
spurred toward her.

" Mistress Dorothy ! " The voice made her heart
leap ; and then she felt sick and faint.

" Dear mistress," — and now Cornet Southorn had
dismounted close beside her — "let me conduct you
safely out of this place, where you surely never
should have come."

The other horsemen had drawn to one side and
away from them, and were now silent.

From Kingdom to Colony 237

Scarcely conscious of what she was doing, Dorothy
permitted him to lift her to his saddle. He sprang
up behind her, and holding her firmly with one arm
about her waist, spurred his horse away from the
scene, shouting to the others not to wait for him.

The uproar soon died away behind them, but still
they sped on in silence. Then Dorothy heard the
young man laugh, and in a way to frighten her,
and rally her dreaming senses to instant alertness.

" So now, my sweet little rebel, you are my captive,
instead of being my jailer, as that night in the
summer." And she felt his breath touch her cheek.

" You shall not speak to me in such fashion. And
— oh, you have passed the street leading to Mistress
Horton's, which is where I must go."

Dorothy began with her usual imperiousness, but
ended in affright as she saw the street fade into the
darkness behind them.

"Is that where I stole like a thief to catch one
glimpse of you, pretty one?" he asked, paying no
heed to her indignation. "And I 'felt like commit
ting murder, when I saw all the gallants who wanted
your smiles for themselves."

" Take me back this minute ! " she demanded
angrily ; but her heart was now thrilling with some
thing that was not altogether rage nor fright.

" That will I not," he answered quickly, and with
dogged firmness.

" You are no gentleman," she cried, beginning at
last to feel real alarm, " if you do not take me to
Mistress Horton's this minute."

The young man leaned forward until his lips were

238 From Kingdom to Colony

close to the girl's ear ; and his deep voice, now trem
bling as with suppressed feeling, sent each word
to her with perfect distinctness.

" I hope, sweet Mistress Dorothy, I am a gentle
man," he said. " As such I was born, and have been
accounted. But" — and his voice sank to a trem
ulous softness — "take you anywhere, I will not,
until we have seen good Master Weeks, for whose
house we are now bound. And when we leave it, it
will be as man and wife."

" You — dare not," she gasped. " You dare not do
such a thing."

He laughed softly. "Dare I not? Ah, but you
mistake. I dare do anything to win you for my own.
I know your sweet rebel heart better than you think,
and I know that except it be done in some such man
ner, you may never be mine."

She tried to speak, but fright and dismay sealed
her lips. Suddenly he bent his face still closer and
whispered : " Ah, little sweetheart, how I long to kiss
you ! But my rose has its thorns ; and I fear their
stinging my face, as they did that day in the wood,
ages ago, — so long it seems since I had the happy
chance to hold speech with you."

Still Dorothy could not utter a word, seeming to
be in a dream, while the powerful gray flew along the
deserted streets that somehow looked new and strange
to her eyes. And now she felt the broad breast pil
lowing her head, and she could feel distinctly the
beating of his heart, as if his pulse and her own were
one and the same.

And so they rode along in silence until they

From Kingdom to Colony 239

reached the house of Master Weeks, where the young
man pulled up his horse, and without dismounting,
pounded fiercely with his sword-hilt upon the door.

An upper window was soon raised, and a man's
querulous voice demanded to know what was wanted.

" Make haste, and come down to see," was the im
patient answer. " It is Cornet Southern who wishes
to speak with you."

The window was closed hastily, and a light soon
flickered in the lower part of the house; and then
came the noise of the door being unbarred.

The young man sprang to the ground and held out
his arms.

" Come, sweetheart," he said, " let me lift you
down, and I will fasten the horse to a ring in the step
here. He has been fastened there before, but," with
a soft laugh, " scarce for a like purpose."

Dorothy clung to the pommel. " I '11 not, — I '11
not ! " she declared. " You shall not dare do so
wicked a thing, and Master Weeks will never dare
listen to you."

"We'll see to that," he laughed, and lifted her
from the saddle. Then, as she reached the ground,
he kissed her, as he had that day in the wood.

" Be good to me, and true to yourself, my sweet
little rebel," he whispered, " and fight no longer
with truth and your own heart. Own that you love
me, and know that I love you, — aye, better than
my life."

"I care naught for your love," cried Dorothy,
struggling to free herself from his arms. " And I tell
you that I hate you ! "

240 From Kingdom to Colony

"Aye," and he laughed again, "so your lips
say. But I know what your heart says, for your
eyes told me that, long ago. And I shall listen to
your heart and eyes, and pay no heed to your sweet
little rebellious mouth."

They were now standing on the upper step of the
small porch, and in the open doorway was the min
ister, Master Weeks, a candle in his hand, and held
above his head as he peered out into the darkness
with wonder filling his blinking eyes.

" Good Master Weeks, here is a little wedding
party. And despite the unseemly hour, you must
out with your book, and your clerk, as witness, for
binding the bargain past all breaking."

With this, the young officer, carrying Dorothy in
before him, entered the house and closed the door,
against which he placed his broad back, his gleaming
teeth and laughing eyes alight like a roguish boy's as
he smiled down upon the bewildered little divine.

"You will do no such thing, Master Weeks,"
Dorothy protested, her eyes flashing with anger. " I
am here against my will, and forbid you to listen to
his madness."

"Aye," the young man said, looking into her
glowing face, " mad I am, and with a disease that
naught will cure but to know that you are my wife."

"Why, Cornet Southern," exclaimed Master Weeks,
"whatever can you be thinking on? Surely this
lady is Mistress Dorothy, the daughter of Master
Joseph Devereux." And he looked closely into
her face.

" Yes, so I am," she cried, moving nearer to him.

From Kingdom to Colony 241

" You know my father, and you '11 surely not hearken
to this young Britisher? "

"Aye, but he will, and that speedily," the young
man asserted. The smile was now gone from his
face, and his hand stole toward his pistol.

" Master Weeks," he said sternly, " it will go hard
with you if within ten minutes you do not make this
lady my wife." And he looked at his watch.

The frightened little man said nothing more, but
hurriedly summoned his housekeeper and her son,
who was also his clerk. A few minutes later, and
Dorothy, held so firmly — albeit gently — by Kyrle
Southern that she could not move from his side,
heard the words that made her his wife.

When it was over, she was strangely silent, scarcely
seeming to comprehend what had taken place.

The newly made husband put his name upon the
register. Then, as he drew Dorothy forward to take
his place, he bent down until his face came beneath
her own, and gave her a curious, beseeching look, —
one that seemed to act upon her bewildered senses
like a deadening drug.

Yes, he was right. She loved him better than all
else in the world. Her mind had fought the truth
these many months ; but now her heart rose up, a
giant in strength and might, and *she could never
question it again.

For a moment her great dark eyes looked down
into his pleading ones. Then in a subdued, obedient
way, entirely unlike the wilful Dorothy of all her
former life, she took the pen he proffered and wrote
her name underneath his bold signature.

16

242 From Kingdom to Colony

A deep sigh now burst from his lips, — one of
happy relief; then, as if utterly unmindful of the
minister's presence, he pressed a kiss upon the little
hand that still held the pen.

She submitted to this in silence, standing before
him with downcast face, and eyes that seemed fear
ing to meet his gaze, while he carefully drew the
cloak about her once more.

"I trust, Mistress Dorothy, you will in no wise
hold me accountable for this young man's rashness,
when the matter shall come to your father's ears,
but that you will kindly raise your voice in my
behalf to testify how that I was forced for my life's
sake to agree."

Master Weeks was already on the black list, owing
to his well-known sympathy for the King's cause, and
for having remonstrated openly with the patriots of
his congregation.

" You have but to keep a close mouth, Master
Weeks," said Southorn, as the little man lighted them
into the hall ; " and the closer, the safer it will be for
your own welfare, until such time as one of us shall
call upon you to speak."

A few minutes later they were again speeding along,
with everything about them as silent as the stars now
glittering in an unclouded sky.

The touch of the keen air upon Dorothy's face
seemed to arouse her; and as her senses became
awakened, she was filled with a wild yearning for the
safe shelter of her father's arms.

What would that father say, — how was she ever to
tell him of this dreadful thing?

From Kingdom to Colony 243

And yet was it sure to be so dreadful to her ?

Yes, it must be. This man was the sworn enemy
of her country, and of the cause for which her brother
and her friends were imperilling their very lives. If
she went with him — this Englishman who was now
her husband — it meant that her family would brand
her as a traitor, and that she would be an outcast
from them. It might bring about the death of her
father, the light of whose eyes and life she knew her
self to be.

She seemed to see once more the beloved face, and
hear his voice, warning the pedler to take care of her.

And poor Johnnie Strings — might he not at this
moment be dead, stricken down by the followers of
this very man who was now holding her so close to
his breast, and murmuring fond words between the
kisses he pressed upon her lips.

She was beset by a sudden loathing of him and of
herself, and pushing away his bended face, she tried
to sit more erect.

" Stop ! " she cried fiercely. " Don't touch me. I
did not mean to give way so. I detest you ! "

" Ah, my little rebel," — and he spoke in no pleased
tone, — " have I to fight the battle all over? "

"You have taken an unfair, a dishonorable ad
vantage of me," she said. " I am not used to such
manners as you have shown. But I tell you this, — •
although you have forced me to become your wife,
you cannot force my love."

" So it would seem," was his grim answer.

"Where do you purpose taking me?" she de
manded, all her wits now well in hand.

244 From Kingdom to Colony

" That shall be just as you say, sweet mistress," he
replied, so good-naturedly as to surprise her.

" Then take me at once to my father's house," she
ordered, with her natural imperiousness.

" So be it," he said. " And that will be on my own
way, as it leads to Jameson's."

They rode in silence along the snowy road, whose
whiteness and the stars made the only light, until
they were within her father's grounds, and partially
up the driveway.

Here she bade him let her down; and he dis
mounted silently and lifted her from the horse, de
taining her as she stood alongside him, as in her
heart she had hoped he would. And yet had he not
done this, she would have gone her way without a
word.

" Is there any doubt but that you will get within
the house all safe?" he asked anxiously.

" None." She lifted her face, and he wished there
were a better light with which to see her.

"And now," he said, "what is your will that I
do?"

Dorothy answered quickly and with angry decision.

"Go away and leave me," she exclaimed, "and
never speak to me again ! "

She could not see the look of pain come to his
face. But he still lingered beside her, and asked
again, " And you are certain to get within the house,
and that you fear naught?"

" I fear nothing ! " she said impatiently.

" Aye, — I should have cause to know better than
ask such a question," he declared, in a voice that

From Kingdom to Colony 245

sounded as if now he might be smiling. Then he
asked, "And you mean it, — that I leave you, and
keep away?"

" Yes, yes ; let me go." And she sought to escape
from his grasp.

But he held her firmly, and still closer.

" Do you realize, sweet mistress, that you are my
wife, — my own little wife? "

She did not reply ; and bending his head nearer,
he exclaimed passionately : " My own wife you are,
and no man can change that, — never, never ! And
now, having gained you, I am content to await your
pleasure. My lips shall be sealed until you choose
to open them ; and until you send for me, sweet mis
tress of my heart, I shall not come nigh you. Only,
I pray you, in God's name, not to let the time be
far away."

" Let me go," was all she could say, dismayed as
she was by the weight of sorrow that had come to
her, and threatened those whom she loved.

He released her without another word, and she
fled swiftly to the house.

Having awakened Tyntie by tossing some bits of
ice against her window, she soon gained entrance,
and quieted the wonder of the faithful servant by
telling her that there had been a street fight, and a
gentleman had brought her home on his horse.

Despite the terrible struggle going on in her child
ish heart, Dorothy kept up bravely until alone in her
own room, whose very familiarity seemed almost a
shock to her, for all that had been crowded into these
few hours made it as though weeks had passed since

246 From Kingdom to Colony

she arrayed herself for her brother's wedding, — little
dreaming that it was for her own as well.

And such a wedding ! How was it that the young
Britisher had dared to do such a thing? How was it
that she had come to sign the register so meekly?
How could she ever dare tell of it? And if she did
so, might not her revelation bring harm to him?

Such were the questions that chased one another
through her mind, only to return again and again
with renewed importunity.

She had told him to go, and yet — she loved him
truly. And could she be loyal to her father's cause
with such a love battling in her heart?

With thoughts like these the few remaining hours
of the night wore away, bringing to her but snatches
of fitful sleep.

Johnnie Strings appeared at the Devereux farm
early the following morning. The red of his face
was almost pale, and he was haggard and wild-eyed,
with one of his arms in a sling.

He came to report to John Devereux the happen
ings of the night before, and to consult with him as
to the best way of imparting to his father the news
of Dorothy's disappearance.

The newly wedded pair had already been told by
Tyntie of the girl's presence in the house ; and Jack
now hastened to assure the almost distracted pedler
of her safety, adding that they had thought it best
to leave her sleeping undisturbed until she should
be ready to come down and join them.

When Johnnie Strings heard this, he collapsed into
a chair.

From Kingdom to Colony 247

" Well, well ! " he exclaimed, as soon as he could
find his voice, "I never was so dead beat out! My
broken arm is pretty bad, to be sure, but my feelin's
was a danged sight worse when I come to my senses
last night. There they had me in fisher Doak's, an'
naught could they tell o' Mistress Dorothy, for none
had seen her. I went down to Storms's at daybreak,
and then over to Morton's, an' she 'd been seen at
neither place. Comin' by Master Lee's, I first
thought to make inquiry there, thinkin', ye know,
she might o' flewed to her father. Then, thinks I,
* Hold on, Strings. If she did, then she 's safe as
safe ; an' if she did n't, why, ye may be the death o'
the old gentleman.'

" So thinkin', I rode back to Horton's ag'in an'
begged 'em — an' Mistress Lettice, who was about
plum out o' her head with fright — to keep quiet, an'
not risk scarin' your father to death, while I rode
out here to see ye an' have a sort o' meetin' over it,
to decide what 's to be done next an' best. So now,
thank the Lord, I find the bird is safe here in the
nest where she b'longs, an' I '11 hurry back an* tell
Mistress Lettice, as I promised to do."

With this he pulled himself up from the chair and
started for the door. But the young man stopped
him.

" You had better stop here awhile, Strings," he
said, "and have something to eat and drink; I
can send Leet in to see Aunt Lettice." And Mary
adding her persuasions, the worn-out pedler was
induced to accept the invitation.

Tyntie soon had a tempting meal spread for him ;

248 From Kingdom to Colony

and having been without food since leaving the
Horton house the night before, he was in a condition
to do it full justice.

John Devereux sat by while the pedler ate, and
drew from him the details of the disturbance.

It had been brought about by a party of the
Britishers being requested to depart from a tavern
kept by one Garvin, where they were eating and
drinking until a late hour. A wrangle ensued, dur
ing which one of the dragoons knocked Garvin down,
and then the latter's son had retaliated in kind.

At this, some of the other guests — townsmen —
had joined in, and a regular fight began, spreading
soon from the inn to the street, where, aroused by
the noise, others had taken part, although scarcely
knowing why, except for the reason that here were
some of the hated enemy, and they must be made
to retreat.

No one had been killed outright, although several
were quite badly hurt.

" The queerest part of it is, sir," said the pedler,
having finished his story, " that I Ve a firm belief
't was none other than David Prentiss who broke my
arm for me. Somethin' must o' turned him blind,
I should say, for him to see a red coat on me"

" That is the trouble with these street fights, and
especially at night, — the men seem to lose all sense
of sight and reason. Something has got to be done
to make the Governor remove the troops from the
Neck." While speaking, John Devereux rose from
his chair, and paced up and down the room in angry
excitement.

From Kingdom to Colony 249

" Aye, very true, sir," Johnnie assented, as he
drained the last drop of spirits from his glass. " But
however will such a thing be brought about? "

" I don't know," was the impatient reply. " But
it must and shall be brought about, if we have to rise
up and drive them out by main force, and at the
risk of turning our very streets into a battle-ground.
And this is the only thing that has kept us from
doing it long ago. But their insulting tyranny only
grows worse, and they seek deliberately to stir up the
people to rash actions; and these, when reported,
serve but to hurt the real cause of our revolting,
when tidings of them comes to the King's hearing."

"Aye, no doubt," the pedler agreed, as he arose
from the table. "Now, if His Majesty could be
got to sit down, comfort'ble, like another man
might, an' listen to all we could tell him, he might
agree to let us have what we want, an' what is only
fair we should have, an' no fightin' need be done
o'er the matter. The trouble is in this everlastin'
lot o' lyin', gabblin' poll-parrots that he puts atwixt
himself an' us, to tell him what the people do an'
don't say an' do. An' to the poll-parrots he listens,
and, listenin', b'lieves. So, for one, I should say the
quicker we fight it out — whether it be in our streets
or up to Boston — "

Mary now came into the room looking very
grave ; and her husband, paying no further attention
to the pedler, asked anxiously, " What is amiss,
sweet wife ? "

She tried to speak quietly, but the tremor in her
voice told of alarm.

250 From Kingdom to Colony

" Dorothy is awake," she said, " and I think you
had best see her at once. She seems ill."

They left the room together and were soon stand
ing at the girl's bed, — one on either side, looking
down at the restlessly moving head.

The big eyes stared at Jack for an instant with
evident recognition. Then a vacant look came into
them, and she laughed in a way to fill him with
apprehension.

A moment more, and she began to mutter —
something about Hugh Knollys falling into the water,
and how dark and cool it was, and that she wanted
to go into it, for she was hot, — so hot.

" She is out of her head," Mary whispered ; " and
this is the way she went on to me, before I called
you."

Her husband looked again at the unquiet little
figure, and reached down to take the small hand
wandering about the coverlid ; but she snatched it
from his clasp.

" Go away, — go far away ! " she cried. " I told
you to go, and I meant it. Oh, yes, — I did mean
it. I am only crying because I hate you, — never
think it is for anything else. I hate you because
your coat is red, — red, like the ruby ring you forced
on my finger whether I would or no. And even the
ring did not want to stay, for it knew me better than
you did. It was so big that you had to hold it on';
and now I Ve put it away safe, — safe, where no one
will ever see, ever know. But it is red, and red
means cruelty; and that is what this war is to be."

The babbling died away in a moan; but before

From Kingdom to Colony 251

Jack or his wife could speak, Dorothy began again,
now in a stronger voice than before.

" Moll said it must bring sorrow, — sorrow. And
yet she said I wound him like a silken thread around
my finger. Ah, that winds tight, although the ring
was loose. And the thread Moll spoke of means
love, but the ring means — But no, I must not tell,
never, never, for it would kill my father. Father,
I want you, — where are you?"

This came in a loud cry, and she sank back sob
bing, on the pillows, — for she had struggled partially
to her elbow, where Jack held her so that she could
rise no farther.

" Mary, what is to be done? " asked the young man
helplessly, anxiety and fear having for the moment
deprived him of his usual promptness and decision.

" Don't you think we had best send for your
father and Aunt Lettice?" Mary said in her calm
way, although the tears were running down her
cheeks. "And the doctor must be called at once."

" Leet has already gone into the town to tell them
that Dot is here. But I will have Trent put the
horses into the sleigh, and he and I will hasten in
at once and fetch them all back, and the doctor as
well, unless he can come out ahead of us. You
will stop right here beside her, won't you, sweet
heart ? " he added anxiously, as he turned to leave
the room.

" Why, of course I will." And Mary looked at
her husband a little reproachfully.

"And you do not mind being left alone?" he
asked, looking back over his shoulder, while his

252 From Kingdom to Colony

hand gripped the open door in a way that told of
the tension upon him.

She shook her head, smiling at him through her
tears.

Jack had no sooner gone than the faithful Tyntie
came to see if she were needed. But Mary sent her
away with the assurance that she herself could do all
that was to be done at present.

The ravings of the sick girl troubled her ; and she
deemed it prudent that no other ear should hear
words she felt might have a hidden meaning.

Dorothy still rambled on about the ruby ring and
scarlet coat. Once the name of Master Weeks fell
from her lips, coupled with wild lamentations that
she had ever signed the register, and so risked the
breaking of her father's heart.

After a little time — Dorothy having become quiet
— Mary stood looking out of the window, her eyes
resting on the glittering fields that spread away to
the gray line of the ocean, where the cold waves
were curling in with glassy backs, and foam-ridged
edges as white as the snow they seemed to seek upon
the land.

She had been watching the gulls circling about
with shrill screams or hanging poised over the
water, when a low call caused her to start.

She turned at once, to see Dorothy sitting up
and looking intently at her, while she seemed to
fumble under the pillow for something.

" What is it, dear ? " Mary asked, hastening to the
side of the bed.

Dorothy drew from beneath the pillow a heavy

From Kingdom to Colony 253

ring of yellow gold, with a great ruby imbedded in it,
like a drop of glowing wine.

" There it is," she whispered, putting the ring into
Mary's hand. " It is his ring, — only he gave it to
me. Hide it, — hide it, Mary. Never let any one see
— any one know. I want to tell you all about it, but
I am so tired now, so tired, and — " The girl fell
back with closed eyes, and in a moment she appeared
to be asleep.

After standing a few minutes with her eyes fixed
upon the unconscious face, Mary opened her hand
and looked at the ring.

It was a man's ring, and one she recalled at once
as having seen before.

It had been upon the shapely brown hand lifted
to remove the hat from a young man's head, that
summer day, at the Sachem's Cave.

There came to her a sudden rush of misgiving, as
she asked herself the meaning of it all. What had
this hated Britisher's ring to do with Dorothy's ill
ness and with her ravings ? What was all this about
Master Weeks, and signing the register?

She determined to tell her husband of what she
had heard and seen, and let his judgment decide what
was to be done.

And yet when he returned, and with him his father
and Aunt Lettice and 'Bitha, all of them sad-faced and
alarmed over Dorothy's sudden sickness, something
seemed to hold back the words Mary had intended
to speak. And so she said nothing to her husband,
but hid the ring away, resolved that for the present,
at least, she would hold her own counsel.

254 From Kingdom to Colony

After all — so she tried to reason — it might be
nothing more than that the young Britisher had given
Dorothy the ring.

And yet that the girl should accept such a gift
from him surprised and grieved her, knowing as she
did that had there been any lovemaking between the
two, it would surely bring greater trouble than she
dared now to consider.

Mary was one who always shrank from doing
aught to cause discord ; and so, albeit with a mind
filled with anxiety, she decided to keep silence.

Dorothy's ailment proved to be an attack of brain
fever, and it was many weeks before she recovered.
And when she was pronounced well again, she went
about the old house, such a pale-faced, listless shadow
of her former self that her brother watched her with
troubled eyes, while her father was well-nigh beside
himself with anxiety.

But as often as they spoke to her of their misgiv
ings she answered that she was entirely well, and
would soon be quite as before.

She appeared to have forgotten about the ring, and
Mary waited for her to mention it, wondering after a
time that she did not.

At last, late in January, the hated soldiers were
ordered away from the Neck; and great was the
rejoicing amongst the townspeople, whose open dem
onstrations evinced their delight at being freed
from the petty tyranny of their unwelcome visitors.

It was John Devereux who brought the news, as
the other members of the family sat late one after
noon about the big fireplace in the drawing-room.

From Kingdom to Colony 255

Aunt Lettice and Mary were busy with some matter
of sewing, and 'Bitha, with an unusually grave face, was
seated between them on a low stool. A half-finished
sampler was on her knee, and the firelight quivered
along the bright needle resting where she had left off
when it became too dark for her to work.

Dorothy was at the spinet, drawing low music
from the keys, and playing as if her thoughts were
far away.

Her father had just come from out of doors, and
now sat in his big armchair, with his hands near the
blaze, for the cold had increased with the setting of
the sun.

It had gone down half an hour before, leaving a
great crimson gash in the western sky, above which
ran a bank of smoky gray clouds, where the evening
star was beginning to blink.

It had been a day of thawing. The sun had started
the icy rime to running from the trees and shrubs,
and melted the snow upon the roofs, while the white
covering of the land was burned away here and there,
until it seemed to be out at knees and elbows, where
showed the brown and dirty green of the soil.

But an intense cold had come with the darkness,
turning the melted snow to crystal, and hanging
glittering pendants from everything.

" I wish Cousin Dot was all well, the way she used
to be," sighed small 'Bitha, sitting with her rosy face
so rumpled by the pressure of the little supporting
palms as to remind one of the cherubs seen upon
ancient tombstones.

She spoke in a voice too low for any one to hear

256 From Kingdom to Colony

save those nearest her; and Mary gave a warning
" Hush," as she glanced at the abstracted face of her
father-in-law, who was gazing intently at the flames
leaping from the logs.

" She '11 not hear what I say," the child went on,
now with a touch of impatience. " She often does n't
hear me when I speak to her. Many times I ask her
something over and over again, when she is looking
straight at me ; and then she will act as jf she 'd been
asleep, and ask me what I Ve been saying."

"Your cousin was very ill, you must remember,
'Bitha," her grandame explained ; " and it takes her a
long time to recover, and be like herself again."

But the child shook her blonde head with an air of
profound wisdom.

" I think it is only that bad medicine of Dr.
Paine's," she said. " When I am ill, I shall ask
Tyntie to fetch me a medicine man, such as the In
dians have. I should like to see him dance and beat
his drum."

" I should think we have had enough of the sound
of beating drums, 'Bitha," replied Mary, speaking so
sharply as to arouse her father-in-law into looking
toward her.

Here John Devereux, just returned from the town,
came in and announced the withdrawal of the British
soldiers from the town and Neck.

" When will they go ? " his wife asked eagerly.

"A shipload of them has already sailed, — it left
the harbor before sunset; and some of the dragoons
are about starting. It did my heart good to see the
red-backs taking the road to Salem. We are well

From Kingdom to Colony 257

quit of them ; and when they are gone we can easily
manage all the ships they send into the harbor to
annoy us or spy upon us."

He laughed with a mingling of indignation and
contempt; but his manner changed quickly as he
glanced toward his sister.

"Dot!" he cried, "what is it, child?" And he
sprang to her.

She had tqrned about when he came into the room,
and was now lying back against the spinet, her head
on the music-rack, — lying there speechless, motion
less ; for the girl — and for the first time in her life —
had fainted.

17

258 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER XXIV

AN hour later, when left in her own room with
Mary, Dorothy poured out her secret sorrow.

The others had yielded to her urging and gone to
the tea-table below, albeit with scant appetites, and
with minds much troubled over the strange weakness
that had come over Dot. But Mary remained ; and
so it came about that the two were now alone, Dor
othy lying upon a lounge, and Mary beside her,
clasping one of her hands.

The room was filled with weird shadows from the
wood fire, which made the only light; for Jack, at
his sister's request, had carried away the candles.

"Are you cold?" Mary asked, feeling Dorothy
shiver. And she drew the silken cover more closely
about the girl's shoulders and neck.

"No — no," was the quick reply. " It 's not that
I 'm cold. I 'm only so miserable that I don't know
what to do with myself. Oh, Mary — if only I might
die ! " And she burst into passionate sobbing.

Mary was greatly startled; but feeling that the
time was now come to unravel the secret she was
certain had been the cause of Dorothy's illness, she
waited quietly until the first burst of grief had spent
itself, while she soothed and caressed her sister-in-law
as though she were a little girl.

Presently the sobs became less fierce, then ceased
altogether, ending with a long, quivering sigh, as

From Kingdom to Colony 259

from a child worn out by the storm of its own
passion.

Mary felt that now was the opportunity for which
she had been waiting.

" Dorothy," she whispered — " dear little Dot ! "

" Yes." The word came so faintly as scarcely to
be audible.

" When are you going to open your heart to me ?
Don't you love nor trust me any longer?"

" Oh, Mary, you know I do, and always have."
The girl said this with something of her old im
pulsiveness, and pressed Mary's hands almost con
vulsively.

"Then will you not tell me, dear?" said Mary
coaxingly, bending to kiss the troubled face.

There was silence, broken only by the crackling of
the burning wood and the sputtering of the sap from
the logs.

Dorothy drew a long breath, as though she had
done away with wavering, and was now resolved to
speak.

" Yes, I will," she answered. " But remember,
Mary," and she seemed filled with fear again, " you
can tell no one, — no living person, — not even Jack.
At least not yet. You will promise me this?"

" Has it aught to do with that ring? " asked Mary,
before committing herself.

"What ring?" Dorothy's eyes opened wide, and
she spoke sharply.

" Don't you remember the ring you gave me when
you were so ill, and told me to keep for you, — a
man's ring, with a ruby set in it? "

260 From Kingdom to Colony

. "No." She said it vaguely, wonderingly, as if
dreaming. Then she cried in terror, "Oh, Mary, you
did not show it to Jack, nor tell him or my father of
the matter?"

" No, my dear," Mary answered with an assuring
smile. " I waited until you were well enough to tell
me more, or else tell them yourself."

" Good Mary, — good, true sister." And Dorothy
pressed her lips to the hand she clasped.

" But the matter has given me such a heartache,
Dot, for I feared I might be doing wrong. Surely
no one can love you more than your own father and
brother. Why not tell them, as well as me, of —
whatever it is? "

" I will, Mary," Dorothy said resolutely. " I in
tended to, all the time. But not yet, not yet. I
want to tell you, first of all, and see if you can think
what is best to be done. And," with a little shud
der, " I thought I had lost the ring ; and the first
day I was able to slip out of doors, I hunted for it
xvhere I got off the horse that night. Oh, that
dreadful night ! " She almost cried out the words as
the sharpness of awakened sorrow came to her.

"Come, Dot," Mary urged, "tell me. I'll
promise to keep silent until you bid me speak."
She knew they were losing precious time, for her
husband would not be long gone, having promised
to return in order that she might go down for her
own supper.

Dorothy hesitated no longer, but, in the fewest
possible words, unburdened her heart, while Mary
listened in speechless amazement.

From Kingdom to Colony 261

Her indignation and horror grew apace until the
story was all told. Then she cried : " It was a
cowardly, unmanly trick, — a traitor's deed ! He is
no gentleman, with all his fine pretence of manners."

"Ah — but he is." And Dorothy sighed softly,
and in a way to have opened Mary's eyes, had she
been less absorbed by the anger now controlling her.

"By birth, mayhap," she admitted, although re
luctantly; then adding fiercely, "he surely is not
one in his acts."

Then her voice grew gentle again, and the tears
seemed to be near, as she laid her head alongside the
curly one upon the pillow.

" Oh, my poor, poor little Dot," she said ; " to
think of the dreadful thing you have been carrying
in your mind all this time ! Small wonder that you
were pale and sad, — it was enough to kill you."

-The words brought Dorothy's grief to her once
more. Then Mary broke down as well, and the two
wept together, their heads touching each other on
the pillow.

"And now whatever is to be done?" Mary said, as
soon as her calmness returned, — a calmness filled
with indignation and resentment. " Since this man
is surely your husband, you must needs obey him, I
suppose, if he insists upon it. And now that he is
going away, it would seem natural for him to come
here, despite his promise to wait until he was asked.
And I should say he would be quite sure to demand
that you go away with him. And," almost in ter
ror, " for your father to hear of it for the first time
in such a fashion, and from him ! "

262 From Kingdom to Colony

" Oh, Mary, don't talk in that way ! " cried Dorothy,
in affright, and clinging still closer to her.

"But never you fear, Dot," Mary said more en
couragingly, "so long as Jack is here to look after
you. That man will never dare seek to drag you
from your father's house while Jack is about. And
besides, the townspeople would never permit him to
leave the place alive, should he attempt such a
thing."

" I won't go — I '11 never go ! " Dorothy exclaimed
passionately. "But — " Her voice took a different
note, and she stopped.

" But — what? " asked Mary instantly, for she heard
her husband's footsteps on the uncarpeted staircase.

" I don't want any harm to befall him," was the
tremulous answer.

" Oh, Dot," Mary began in dismay, " can it be pos
sible that, after all, you — "

But Dorothy interrupted her.

" Hush ! " she whispered, " here comes Jack."
Then beseechingly, " Oh, Mary, say once more that
you '11 not tell him yet."

But her husband was already in the room, and all
Mary could do was to press Dorothy's hand.

A little later in the evening all the members of the
family were again in the drawing-room. Dorothy, in
order to relieve their anxiety, and especially on her
father's account, had joined them; and the girl now
made greater efforts than ever before to appear like
herself.

This was now easier for her, from having shared
her burdensome secret with Mary, who seemed to

From Kingdom to Colony 263

have taken upon her shoulders a good part of the
troublesome load.

She carried herself with a much quieter mien than
usual, but in a way not to excite comment, save when
her husband said to her as they were closing the
shutters to keep out the night and make the room
still more cosey, " What is it, sweetheart, — are you
troubled over Dot?"

" Yes," she replied, thankful that she could answer
so truthfully.

" The child is going to be as she should, I am
sure," he said, glancing over his shoulder to where
his sister was sitting, close beside her father, her
head resting against his shoulder. She was smiling
at something Aunt Lettice had been telling of 'Bitha,
whom she had just been putting to bed.

Before Mary could say anything more, a sudden
clatter of hoofs outside announced the arrival of
horsemen, and a minute later the sounding of the
heavy brass knocker echoed through the hall.

Dorothy and Mary looked at each other in alarm,
the same intuition making them fear what this might
portend.

" Whatever can it be at this hour ! " exclaimed
Joseph Devereux, as his son went to answer the
noisy summons. " I hope nothing is wrong in the
town."

There came the sound of men's voices, low at first,
but soon growing louder, and then almost menacing,
as the outer door was sharply closed.

" And I say, sirrah," — it was the voice of John
Devereux — " that you cannot see her."

264 From Kingdom to Colony

Dorothy sprang from her father's side and sped to
the door, which she flung wide open, and stood, with
widening eyes and pale cheeks, upon the threshold.
A moment more, and Mary was alongside her ; and
then, his face filled with amazement and anger,
Joseph Devereux followed them.

Standing with his back against the closed door,
was a stalwart young dragoon, his red uniform mak
ing a ruddy gleam in the dimly lit hall as he angrily
confronted the son of the house.

But no sooner did he catch sight of the small figure
in the open doorway than the anger left his face, and
he stood before her with uncovered head, paying no
more heed to the others than if they had been part
of the furniture in the hall.

" Sweet Mistress Dorothy," he said, — and his eyes
searched her face with a passionate inquiry — " we
are ordered away, as you may have heard. I am
leaving the town to-night, and could not go until I
had seen you once more."

The eyes looking up into his were filled with many
emotions, but Dorothy made no reply.

He waited a moment for her to speak. Then an
eager, appealing look came to his face, and he asked,
" Have you naught to say to me — no word for me
before I go? "

Joseph Devereux now found his voice.

" Aught to say to ye, sirrah ! " he demanded furi
ously. " What should a daughter o' mine have to
say to one of His Majesty's officers, who has been to
this house but once before, and then, as now, only
by means of his own audacity?"

From Kingdom to Colony 265

At the sound of this angry voice Dorothy shud
dered, and tearing her eyes from those blue ones
that had not once left her face, she turned quickly
and clung to her father.

The young man laughed, but not pleasantly, and
there was a nervous twitching of the fingers resting
upon the hilt of his sword.

" You are surely aware, sir," he said, " that I have
the honor of a slight acquaintance with your daughter.
And I fail to see why I should be insulted, simply
because I was mistaken in holding it to be but natural
courtesy that I should bid her farewell."

Here his voice broke in a way that was strange to
all save Dorothy and Mary, as he added : " We leave
this place to-morrow, sir, and your daughter and
myself are never like to meet again ; and I had good
reason to wish the privilege of begging her forgive
ness for aught I may have done to cause her annoy
ance. And if she refused me forgiveness, then she
might be pleased to wish me a right speedy meeting
with a bullet from one of her own people's guns."

Joseph Devereux looked sorely puzzled at these
strange words, which seemed to bear some hidden
meaning. Then, as he felt the quivering of the slight
form clinging to him so closely, and heard the trem
ulous " Oh, father, speak him kindly," his face relaxed
and he spoke less brusquely than at first.

" Your conduct seems rather cavalier, young sir,
but we surely have no wish to seem insulting ; and as
for any annoyance you may have caused my daughter,
I am ignorant o' such. It is but natural, considering
the times, that we do not relish receiving into our

266 From Kingdom to Colony

houses gentry who wear such color as is your coat;
and yet we are not cut-throats, either in deed or
thought. We pray and hope for the good of our
country and cause ; and for such, and such only, do
we think o' the use o' bullets."

During all this time the dragoon's eyes never
strayed from the curly head pressed against the old
man's arm. And now, while her father was speaking,
Dorothy's face was turned, and the big dark eyes, full
of perplexity and fear, met his own and held them.

Mary had made a sign to her husband, and he fol
lowed her into the drawing-room, where Aunt Lettice
was still sitting before the fire, the trembling fingers
betraying her excitement as they flashed the slender
needles back and forth through the stocking she was
knitting.

"What does it all mean, dear?" she inquired, as
Mary came and looked down into the fire, while she
twisted her hands together in a nervous fashion most
unusual with her.

" It means," John Devereux answered angrily, but
not loud enough to reach the ears of those in the
hall, " that there is never any telling to what length
the presuming impudence of these redcoats will go."
He ground his teeth savagely as he wondered why
he had not taken the intruder by the collar and
ejected him before the others came upon the scene;
and he was now angry at himself for not having done
this.

" Whatever can he wish to say good-by to Dot
for?" he muttered hastily to his wife. "And what
ever can he mean about annoying her? Annoy her,

From Kingdom to Colony 267

indeed ! Had he done such a thing, I should have
heard of it ere this, and he would not have gone
unpunished all these days, to crawl in now with a
pretence of apology."

" It seems to me there was little show of crawling
in the way he came," said Mary, with the ghost of
a smile, and speaking only because her husband
seemed to be expecting her to say something. Her
brain was in a tumult as she wondered what would be
the end of all this, and what would — what could poor
Dorothy do for her own peace of mind and that of
her father?

She feared that, should a sudden knowledge of the
truth come to him, it might be his death-blow; and
she made no doubt that if her hot-headed husband
knew it, the young dragoon would scarcely be per
mitted to leave the house unscathed, if indeed he were
not killed outright. And then she thought of a duel,
— of its chances, and of her husband not being the
one to survive.

At this a low cry escaped from her lips before she
could prevent it ; and her husband stepped closer to
her side.

" It is nothing — nothing," she said brokenly, in
response to his anxious questioning. " I was but
thinking."

"Thinking of what, sweetheart?"

" If any harm should befall you," she answered.

" Why, what harm, think you, should come to
me?" And he took her hands, holding them close,
while he tried to look into her averted eyes.

"I — don't know," she said evasively. " These

268 From Kingdom to Colony

are such dreadful times that have come to us, that
no one can tell what is like to happen. Oh," with
a sudden impetuous burst, more suited to Dorothy
than to her own calm self, " I wish there had never
been such a nation as the English ! "

When Joseph Devereux had done speaking, the
young man turned his eyes from the pale face in
which he seemed to have been searching for some
hint or suggestion as to what he should now say.

That his quest was fruitless, — that he found noth
ing, no fleeting glance or expression, to indicate the
girl's present feeling toward him, was apparent from
the look of keen disappointment, well-nigh despair,
that now settled upon his own face, making it almost
ghastly in the uncertain light.

But despite all this, his self-control did not leave
him ; and after one more glance into the dark eyes —
fixed and set, as though there was no life animating
them — he drew himself erect, and made an odd ges
ture with his right hand, flinging it out as if forever
thrusting aside all further thought of her. Then,
without looking at her again, he addressed her
father.

" It was not to discuss such matters that I ventured
to force my way into this house, sir," he said with a
dignified courtesy hardly to be looked for in one of
his years. " It was only that I could not — or felt
that I should not — go away without holding speech
with Mistress Dorothy. It would seem that she has
naught to say to me, and so I have only to beg her
pardon, and take my leave. And, sir, I entreat the
same pardon from you and the other members of

From Kingdom to Colony 269

your household for any inconvenience I may have
caused you and them."

He bowed to the old gentleman, and turned slowly
away. But before he had taken many steps toward
the outer door, Dorothy's voice arrested him, and he
turned quickly about.

" Stay — wait a moment." And leaving her
father's side, she went toward the young man.

"Believe me," she said, speaking very low and
very gently, as she paused while yet a few steps
away from him, " I wish you well, not harm."

"Do you still hold to what you told me?" he
asked quickly, paying no heed to her words.

His voice did not reach her father's ears ; and the
young man's eyes searched her face as though his
fate depended upon what he might read there.

" Yes ! " The answer was as low-pitched as his
question, but firm and fearless. And he saw the
fingers of both little hands clench themselves in the
folds of her gown, while the lace kerchief crossed
over her bosom seemed to pulsate with the angry
throbbing of her heart.

" And you will never forgive me ? " He spoke
now in a louder tone, but with the same pleading
look in his pale face.

Dorothy's eyes met his own fairly and steadily,
but she said nothing.

He waited a second, and then bending quickly,
he clasped both her hands and carried them to his
lips.

" God help me," he said hoarsely, as he released
them, — "God help both of us!"

270 From Kingdom to Colony

With this he turned away, and opening the door,
went out into the darkness.

Dorothy stood perfectly still, with her father star
ing perplexedly into her white face. It had all
passed too quickly for him to interfere, — to speak,
even, had he been so minded.

At the sound of the closing door John Devereux
came again into the hall; and now the noise of
horses' hoofs was heard, dying away outside.

" Dot — my child, what is it? " her father exclaimed,
his heart stirred by a presentiment of some ill he
could not define. And he moved toward the mute
figure standing like a statue in the centre of the wide
hall.

But John was there before him ; and as he passed
his arm around her, she started, and a dry, gasping
breath broke from her lips, — one that might have
been a sob, had there been any sign of tears in the
wild eyes that seemed to hold no sight as they were
turned to her brother's face.

"Dot — little sister," he cried, "tell me — what
is the matter? "

And Mary, now close beside them, added quickly,
" Tell him, Dot, — tell him now."

" Tell," Dorothy repeated mechanically, her voice
sounding strained and husky. "Tell — tell him
yourself, Mary. Tell him that — " And she fell,
a dead weight, against her brother's breast.

From Kingdom to Colony 271

CHAPTER XXV

WHETHER it was due to ordinary physical
causes, or was the result of mental agitation
arising from what has been told herein, cannot well
be determined ; but, soon after Dorothy had been
carried to her room, — conscious, but in a condition
to forbid all questioning or explanation — her father
was taken with what in the language of that day was
termed a" seizure," — so serious as to alarm the
household, and divert all thoughts from other affairs.

He had been pacing up and down the drawing-
room, now deserted by all save himself and his
son. His hands were clasped behind him, his chin
was sunk upon his breast, and his brows knit as
though from anxious thought.

Jack sat staring into the fire ; and both were wait
ing for the return of either Mary or Aunt Lettice,
both of whom had gone to Dorothy's room to give
her such attention as she might require.

It was Mary who came to announce that the girl
was now better, and that, having taken a sleeping
potion administered by Aunt Lettice, she wished to
see her father.

The old gentleman left the room with a brisk step ;
and Mary's eyes followed him nervously as she went
over and seated herself by her husband.

They were silent for a time, both of them watching
the flames that arched from the logs over the fiery

2J2. From Kingdom to Colony

valleys and miniature cliffs made by the burnt and
charred wood, until Jack asked suddenly, "Why do
you not tell me now, sweetheart? "

Mary well knew what he meant; but she waited a
moment, thinking how best she might reveal the sad
and terrible matter she had to disclose.

" Mary," — he now spoke a little impatiently, and
as though to rouse her from her abstraction — " tell
me what all this means."

She stole a hand into his, and then repeated to him
all that Dorothy had told her.

He listened with fast-growing anger; and then,
coupled with his first outburst of rage against the
hated redcoat, were reproaches for his wife, that she
had not sooner informed him of the trouble.

" He would never have left the house alive, had I
known it before," he cried savagely. " As it is, I '11
ride after him as soon as day comes, and call him to
an accounting for his villany, — the dastardly scoun
drel ! And Mary — oh, my wife, how could you
keep it from me till now? "

Her heart sank at this, the first note of reproof or
displeasure his voice had ever held for her.

" You must remember, Jack," she pleaded, " how
sorely I was distressed to know what to do, for I had
given my promise to Dot, and could not break it.
And you must know as well that it was not until this
very evening that I learned of the matter."

" True," he admitted. " But " — persistently —
" there was the ruby ring, when the child was first
taken ill ; how could you keep that from me? "

He spoke reproachfully, but his voice was growing

From Kingdom to Colony 273

softer, and his anger was now gone, for Mary was
sobbing, her head against his breast. And this was
as strange to him as his harsh words had been to her.

" I '11 never — never keep any matter from you
again," she protested brokenly. " I promise it, Jack,
for now I see it was very wrong."

" There — there, sweetheart," he said soothingly,
as he stroked her bright hair, — " 't is all well for us
now, and will ever be, if you but keep to what you
say. But Dot — poor little Dot! " And his anger
came again.

" Oh, that villain, that cursed villain, — but he
shall reckon with me for this outrage ! And 't is well
for that scoundrel Weeks that he 's been made to
flee the town for his seditious sentiments and
preachings."

" But," Mary explained, " Dot said he was forced
to do it, at peril of his life ; that he — the English
man — held a pistol to his head and swore he 'd shoot
him if he refused."

"Pah," said Jack, contemptuously, "he'd never
have dared go so far as that. Master Weeks is but
a poor coward." Then he asked quickly, " Think
you, Mary, that Dot is telling our father aught of the
matter now? "

" I cannot say," was his wife's irresolute answer.
" I fear so, and yet I cannot but hope so, as well, —
for how can another ever tell him ? "

"Aye," groaned the your^g man; "it will come
nigh to killing him."

But Dorothy had not told her father anything.
No sooner had he come to her bedside than her eyes

18

274 From Kingdom to Colony

filled with a contented light, and slipping her hand
within his close clasp, she fell tranquilly asleep, too
stunned and numbed by physical weakness and con
tending emotions, — her senses too dulled from the
effects of Aunt Lettice's draught — to find words
wherein to pour out her heart to him.

He left her sleeping quietly, and returned to those
below; and soon thereafter the seizure came, and he
fell back in his chair, speechless, with closed eyes
and inert limbs.

It was Mary and Aunt Lettice who ministered to
him, with the help of his son and the faithful Tyntie,
who was summoned from Dorothy's room, where she
had been sent to watch the sleeping girl.

Leet was too old and slow of movement to be
entrusted with the summoning of Dr. Paine; and
Trent, who slept in one of the outer buildings, was
aroused and despatched forthwith, with orders to use
all possible speed, as they feared the master was
already dead or dying.

They carried him at once to his own bed, where he
lay unconscious, with no change in his appearance or
breathing; and his son, sitting beside him, gazed with
agonized eyes upon the white face lying against the
pillows, his own face almost as white, and seeming to
have aged under this flood of sorrow now opened in
their midst.

It was well along toward morning, although yet
dark, with the sky cloudless and gemmed with stars,
before Dr. Paine arrived.

The first thing the bustling little man did was to

From Kingdom to Colony 275

bleed his patient, as was then the practice in treating
most ailments. Its present efficacy was soon appar
ent, for it was not long before the labored, irregular
breathing became more natural and the old man
opened his eyes.

But there was an unusual look in them, — one
that never went away. And although after a time
he recovered some of his strength, and was able to
go about the house, the hale, rugged health and
vigorous manhood were gone forever, and Joseph
Devereux remained but a shadow of his former self.

His days were all alike, — passed in sitting before
the fire downstairs, or else dozing in his own room ;
and he had neither care nor thought for the matters
that had once been of such moment to him.

The others were with him constantly, to guard
against possible accident or harm, as well as to do all
in their power in smoothing the way for the loved
one they felt was soon to leave them. And he, as
well as themselves, albeit he never spoke of it,
seemed to understand this, — that they, like him,
were waiting for the end, when he should be sum
moned by the voice none can deny.

And thus he remained day after day, spending
much of his time with the other members of his
family, — listening apparently to all they might say to
him or to one another ; but sitting with silent lips,
and eyes that seemed to grow larger and more won
drous in expression and ligfyt, as if already looking
into that mysterious world, —

" Beyond the journeyings of the sun,
Where streams of living waters run," —

276 From Kingdom to Colony

that world whose glories no speech might convey to
earthly understanding.

" I can never tell him now," Dorothy said with
bitter sorrow, addressing Mary, as the two were alone
in the dining-room. It was one of the days when her
father had risen for his morning meal, and, after
sitting with them awhile, had returned to his room to
lie down.

" 'T is best not, dear," Mary assented. " Do not
burden his heart now, for it would only give him
bitter sorrow to brood over. Jack knows the whole
matter, and he can do all that is to be done."

"And what is that? " Dorothy asked, speaking a
little sharply.

" Call the man to a strict account," was Mary's
reply, with anger now showing in her voice.

" No, Mary, no," cried Dorothy, with much of her
old spirit. "That must not be, — at least not now."
Then more gently, as she observed Mary's look of
surprise, "Naught that he nor any one can say or do
will mend what has been done ; and it is my earnest
wish that the matter be let alone, just as it is, for the
present. Perhaps the future may show some way out
of it." But she spoke as though saying one thing
and meaning quite another.

" Will you tell Jack all this?" Mary asked, with an
odd look.

"Me?" cried Dorothy, in great alarm. "No, no,
Mary; you must do that. I do not wish to have him
speak to me of the matter ; I could not bear it." And
she covered her face with her hands, as if to shut out
the very prospect of such a thing.

From Kingdom to Colony 277

Mary's white forehead wrinkled as though from
perplexity, while her slender fingers tapped nervously
upon the arm of her chair.

She knew not what to make of the girl, — of her
words and actions, of her strange and sudden sickness
and faintings, of all that had come to her since the
advent of this young Britisher.

And within these past few minutes a new anxiety
had found its way into her mind, and this prompted
her to ask, " Can it be, Dot, that you have permitted
this stranger to come between you and your only
brother, who loves you best of all in the world? "

But Dorothy evaded the question. " That he does
not," she asserted, taking her hands from in front of
her face and trying to smile ; " 't is you he loves
best of all."

Mary flushed a little, but replied with tender ear
nestness, " But you know, Dot, he and I are one.
We both love you next to each other, and we wish to
serve you and assure your happiness."

Dorothy sighed and looked down at the floor. " I
doubt if I shall ever be happy again, Mary," she said ;
" and the best way to serve me is to leave me alone
and let me go my own way."

She spoke as though wishing to dismiss the matter,
and, rising from her chair, walked over to the window
and stood looking off over the meadow lands and
toward the sea.

It was a cheering, hopeful sight, for the snow was
gone, and everything in nature was beginning to
show a touch of the coming spring.

Later that same morning they were in Mary's room,

278 From Kingdom to Colony

the young wife busy with some sewing, while Dorothy,
with much of the former color showing in her face,
was moving restlessly about.

" Dorothy ! "

Mary spoke suddenly, as though impelled by a hasty
resolution, and there was a look in her blue eyes that
made a fitting accompaniment to her words ; but she
kept them averted from Dorothy, who had turned and
was coming slowly toward her.

" Dorothy," she repeated, as the girl drew close to
her, " where is that ruby ring? "

Dorothy came to a stop, and every drop of blood
seemed to find its way to her face.

"Eh, — ring, — what ring?" She glanced at her
hands, and then at Mary's face, still turned partially
away from her.

" That ruby ring I gave you back, and advised that
you throw it into the fire or into the sea, and with it
all thought of the dastardly giver."

Dorothy did not reply, and Mary now looked at
her as she said slowly and distinctly, " If you cannot
tell, I can. It is over your heart, hanging about your
neck on a chain."

The girl gave a gasp, and Mary saw her face pal
ing, only to flush again, while the dark eyes filled
with tears.

" Oh, Dot," she cried, astonished and angry, " how
can you love such a man?"

Dorothy threw herself on her knees and- hid her
face in Mary's lap, sobbing as if the words had
broken a seal set to keep this knowledge from even
her own heart.

From Kingdom to Colony 279

" I don't know, Mary, but I do — I do love him,
and have, for always. And now he has gone — gone
away, thinking I hate him, and I may never see him
again."

Mary put her arms around the little form, and used
all her efforts to soothe the passionate outburst. She
could not but feel that she had been wise in thus
forcing Dorothy to open her heart, for not only did
she know the girl would feel better for having spoken,
but she herself had a new and most important fact to
guide her own future action.

280 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER XXVI

MARY felt that she must lose no time in making
her husband as wise as herself with respect to
Dorothy's real sentiments, and in having him under
stand that he could not bring any harm to the young
Britisher without making his sister all the more
unhappy.

She wondered what Jack would say — as to the
effect it would have upon his temper and actions.
But she was determined upon this, — that if he showed
resentment or anger, she would assert herself in
Dorothy's defence, feeling as she did that it was too
late to do other than submit to what fate had brought
about, and all the more especially, since Dorothy had
confessed to loving this man.

" I could almost wish he had been killed outright
the morning I made him tumble over the rocks," she
said to herself, " or that he had fallen into the sea,
never to be seen again." Then, realizing that this
was little short of murder, she shrank from such mus
ings, shocked to find herself so wicked.

There came still another burden of sorrow when
she imparted the whole truth to her husband.

He listened with a brooding face, only the unusual
glitter in his eyes showing how it stirred him. Then,
after a long silence, while he appeared to be turning
the matter in his mind, he exclaimed, not angrily, but
with nothing showing in his voice save bitter self-

From Kingdom to Colony 281

reproach : " Blind fool that I Ve been, seeking to keep
my little sister a child in thought And right here,
under my very eyes, has she become a woman, both
in love and suffering ! "

He sprang to his feet and began to pace back and
forth, his wife watching him with troubled eyes.
Presently he came and looked down into her face.

His own was pale, but it had a set, determined
expression, as though the struggle were over, and he
had turned his back upon all the hopes he had
builded for his beloved sister, — upon what might
have been, but now never to be.

"Sweetheart," he said, " there is one other we are
bound in honor to take into our confidence, to tell all
we know of this sad matter, and that is Hugh Knollys.
He is not like to return here this many a day ; still
it is possible he may, or. that I may be sent to the
neighborhood of Boston before the summer comes.
But whichever way I see him, I shall have to tell him
the truth. Poor old Hugh ! "

" Why, John ! " But Mary's eyes filled with a look
bespeaking full knowledge of what he was to say,
although she had never suspected it until now.

He told her of all that passed between Hugh and
himself that night, so many months ago. And when
he finished, she could only sigh, and repeat his own
words, " Poor Hugh ! "

"Aye, poor Hugh, indeed, for I know the boy's
heart well. It will be a dreadful thing for him to
face, and with his hands tied, as are my own, against
doing aught to the Britisher because his welfare
matters so much to Dot."

282 From Kingdom to Colony

Then he added almost impatiently : " I wish the
child would let me talk with her. She must, before I
go away, else I '11 speak without her consent. So long
as we are situated as now, it may do no harm to let
the matter drift along ; but if I have to leave home — "

" Oh, Jack, don't speak of such a thing," Mary
interrupted. And rising quickly, she laid her hand
on his shoulder as though to hold him fast.

" Why not, sweetheart? " he said, compelled to smile
at her anxiety. " We know what we have to face in
these distracting times ; we knew it when we married.
Matters grow worse with every week, each day almost.
But we must be brave, my darling, and you will best
hold me to my duty by keeping a stout heart, no
matter whether I go or stay. And go I am pretty sure
to, the same as every other man in the town, for we may
look, any day, for a battle somewhere about Boston."

Mary clung to him shudderingly, but was silent.

Hugh Knollys had been all this time at Cambridge,
where troops were mustering from every part of the
land ; and many men from Marblehead were there or
in the neighborhood.

They had heard from him but once, and then
through Johnnie Strings, who, after this last trip —
now over a month since — had returned to Cam
bridge with a very indefinite notion as to when he
would come back to the old town.

The pedler also reported having seen Aunt Penine,
who was quartered near Boston, at the house of some
royalist relatives of her brother's wife, — he himself
having left his home in Lynn and taken up arms for
the King.

From Kingdom to Colony 283

Mistress Knollys was also away, for she had
closed her homestead and gone to stop with an only
sister living at Dorchester, — doing this for safety,
and before the soldiers left the Neck.

A decided feeling of impending war was now sharp
ened and well defined, and all were waiting for the
actual clash of arms.

Late in February, His Majesty's ship " Lively,"
mounting twenty guns, arrived in the harbor and
came to anchor off the fort; and her officers pro
ceeded to make themselves fully as obnoxious as had
the hated soldiers.

They diligently searched all incoming vessels that
could by any pretext be suspected ; and where they
found anything in the nature of military stores, these
were confiscated.

One vessel, carrying a chest of arms destined for
the town, was, although anchored close to the
" Lively," boarded one night by a party of intrepid
young men under the lead of one Samuel R. Trevett,
who succeeded in removing the arms, which they
concealed on shore.

Later on in the month a body of troops landed
one Sunday morning on Romans' Beach ; and after
loading their guns, the soldiers took up their march
through the town.

The alarm drums were beaten at the door of
every church to warn the worshippers, and it was not
long before the hitherto quiet streets were thronged
with an excited crowd of indignant citizens, gathered
in active defence of their rights.

They suspected the object of the enemy to be the

284 From Kingdom to Colony

seizure of several pieces of artillery secreted at Salem.
But in this — or whatever was their purpose — they
were baffled, meeting with such determined opposi
tion as to be forced to march back to the shore and
re-embark, with no more disastrous result to either
side than the usual number of bloody faces and
bruised fists, such as had distinguished the sojourn
of the regulars upon the Neck.

Aside from these two events, the days in the old
town passed much as before, despite the ever-increas
ing certainty of war, — this leading the townsfolk to
go armed night and day, and to keep close watch
from the outlooks for any sudden descent the enemy
might seek to make.

The last vestige of snow was gone from the shaded
nooks amid the trees on the hills, — the land, swept
dry and clear of all signs of winter, was waiting for
the sun to warm the brown earth into life; and in the
hollows of the woods, the tender shoots of the first
wild flowers were already showing, where the winds
had brushed away the fallen leaves of the year
before.

It was the twenty-first of April, and the expected
battle had come at last, for Lexington was two days
old. The news was brought into town before the
morning of the twentieth, and had resulted in the
sudden departure of many of the younger men for
the immediate scene of action.

Among these was John Devereux ; and Mary was
to accompany her husband to the town, in order that
she might be with him until the very last moment.

The parting between father and son was full of

From Kingdom to Colony 285

solemnity, for each felt it to be the last time they
would meet on earth.

" God bless and keep you, my dear boy," said
Joseph Devereux, showing more of his natural vigor
than for many weeks past, as he fixed his large eyes
upon the handsome young face, pale, but filled with
resolution and high purpose. " God bless and keep
you in the struggle in which I know you will do your
part unflinchingly. Never be guilty of aught in the
future, as you have never in the past, to stain the
good name you bear."

Fearing that which he deemed a reflection upon
his manhood, the young man did not reply in words,
but threw his arms about his father's neck in a way
he had not done since boyhood; and the old man
alone knew how something wet still lay upon his
withered cheek after his son had left him.

The last person to whom Jack said farewell was his
sister. She had stolen away to her own room, and
there he found her weeping.

" Little Dot," he said in a choking voice, open
ing his arms to her as he paused just across the
threshold.

She looked up, and with a low cry — half of pain,
half joy — fled to him ; and with this the shadow,
almost estrangement, that had come between them was
swept away forever.

He held her tight against his breast, and let her
weep silently for a time, before he said very gently,
" Dot, my little girl, I must speak to you on a cer
tain matter before I go away."

She raised her head and kissed him ; and this he

286 From Kingdom to Colony

took as permission to tell her what was upon his
mind.

" Dot, I cannot go from you without having every
thing between us the same as has been all our lives,
until these past few sad months."

At this she clung all the closer to him.

"You were badly treated, little one," he continued,
" shamefully treated ; and it was a great grief to me
that you did not come and trust your brother to
the end of telling him the whole matter at the very
first. But 't is all past now, and words are of no
worth. Only this I must know from your own lips,
— if you love this man who has forced himself to be
your husband, and if you love him sufficiently to
leave us all, should he so bid you?"

" That he will never do," Dorothy answered, her
voice full of sad conviction. " He has gone, thinking
I hate him."

" And why did you send him away with such a
notfon as that?"

" Oh, Jack," the girl cried piteously, " cannot you
see — can you not understand? I could not go and
leave you all. I dared not tell at the time all that
had happened — I did not know what to do."

" And you love not the cause he fights for, though
you love the man himself? " And a faint smile touched
his lips.

" That is it, Jack," she answered, relieved at being
understood. " You have spoken my own feelings.
I could not leave father; had I done so, think of
what would have come to me now."

" Poor father, 't is well he will never need to

From Kingdom to Colony 287

know. Well, Dot," and he tried to speak cheerily,
" although 't is a sad tangle now, perhaps time will
straighten it somewhat ; and all we can do is to wait
and hope."

"And you'll never say aught to — him, should
you two meet?" Dorothy asked wistfully, a burning
color deepening in her cheeks.

" Should he and I meet," the young man said with
a scowl, " it is not likely to be in a fashion that will
permit discourse of any sort." Then he regretted his
words, for his sister shivered and hid her face over
his heart.

" Come, Dot," — and now he spoke more calmly,
while he caressed the curly head lying against his
breast — " try to keep a brave heart You have done
no wrong, little one, and we are all in God's hands.
Pray you to Him for your brother while he is from
home; and pray as well that all these sad matters
will come right in the end."

He pressed a kiss upon her tearful face, and was
gone.

Arriving in the town, he found his companions
ready to depart ; and before sunset he was upon the
road to Boston, leaving his wife to stop for a day with
Mistress Horton.

The following evening it was apparent that the end
was coming fast to Joseph Devereux.

Dorothy was alone with the stricken man, Aunt
Lettice, who took 'Bitha with her, having gone into
the town early that afternoon, to make some pur
chases, intending to return later with Mary.

Dr. Paine had told them how the end would

288 From Kingdom to Colony

probably come ; and it was as he had said. He him
self was away toward Boston, where his services were
most needed, and there was no other physician for
Dorothy to summon, even had she felt it necessary.

But she well knew the uselessness of this. No
human skill could prolong the life of him who had
been stricken down late in the afternoon, and now
lay unconscious, breathing heavily, like a strong
swimmer breasting heavy seas. And what sea beats
so relentlessly as do the black waters of Death?

Dorothy had stolen for a moment to the window,
scarcely able to endure to sit longer by the bed, lis
tening to those gasping breaths that wrung her heart
with the passionate sense of impotence to help, or
even ease, the dying man.

Curled up in the broad window-seat, her face turned
from the dimly lighted room to the fast-falling night
outside, the past, and its contrast with the present,
seemed to unroll before her with a vividness of
detail such as we are told comes to one who is
drowning.

All that was happy seemed to lie behind her ; all
the cheer and comfort of the old home were gone,
never to return — no more than would her father's
protecting love.

And he — her father — was now drawing nigh to
the day that knows no darkness, no dawning; while
for her the night shadows of the bitter parting were
closing about, dark and cold.

The incoming tide was almost at the full, and the
surf sounded like a moaning voice from the sea. It
was to the young girl's tortured imagination a warning

From Kingdom to Colony 289

voice, bidding her heed that the fashion of this world
must pass away, and with it the souls of its children,
who, like merry little ones gathering flowers in fair
fields, unheeding, unthinking, grow grave only as the
day draws on. It told her that they grow wise — sad,
perhaps — as the sun sinks ; and that when the dark
ness falls they lie down to sleep, with tired brains and
heavy hearts, all their buoyancy gone with the day's
brightness. They have come to know its bitter les
son of weary struggle, of sore disappointment and
heart-breaks.

The sky was filled with broken banks of ragged
clouds that sent great tattered streamers across the
zenith, entangling the glittering stars that seemed
struggling to push them away, as if they were
smothering draperies, from before their silvery faces.

Over in the east a faint spot of dusky red was
showing in a cloud-rift. It was the rising moon,
seeming to battle, like the stars, with the black hosts
seeking to envelop it. It fought bravely, like a val
iant soldier, and emerging triumphantly at last, threw
a bar of dull red, like a pathway, across the sullen
floor of the ocean.

This reached from the shore, out over the water, far
away, to end in the heavy shadows looming against
the horizon like the walls of the City of Death, whose
angel keeper was even now unbarring the gates for
the call that should bring the soul of Joseph Devereux
within their misty portals.

Dwellers by the sea have a belief that the souls of
those who are called, go ever with the turning of the
tide. It was now only an hour, or less, to that; and

19

290 From Kingdom to Colony

Dorothy was waiting with a trembling heart for the
ebb of the sea to carry her father away to the world
of shadows.

He lay motionless, as though his soul were already
departed, save for that same heavy breathing.

There was no change in this. It was as regular in
its hoarse panting as the swinging of the pendulum
in the clock outside the door, — the old clock that
had seen both joy and sorrow passing before it
through many generations, and had seemed to look
with friendliness upon every eye — blue, black, gray,
or brown — uplifted to its great face, — eyes that had
long since been closed, some of them not even having
time to grow dim with age or be moistened by tears
of grief.

"Gone — gone — going," it sighed in Dorothy's
ears, until she covered them with her hands to shut
out the sound, and with it the moaning of the surf.

" Dot, my little girl ! " A faint voice broke the
stillness as the heavy breathing was hushed.

She flew to the bedside and knelt there, while she
pressed her warm mouth against the nerveless hand,
whose chill seemed to strike her very heart. Her
father felt the quivering of her lips, and tried to lift
his other hand to her head.

She knew this without seeing it, and moving yet
closer to him, she laid her face over his heart, her
head fitting into the hollow of his arm as she clasped
his hand with her small fingers.

"Dot, my baby — oh, my little girl ! "

The words came with all his old strength of voice,
and she felt that he was weeping.

From Kingdom to Colony 291

Startled at this outbreak, and alarmed for fear of
some injury it might do him, all the girl's grief
became swallowed up in the new energy that now
surged through her.

" Hush ! " she said soothingly, placing her face
against his own. " Hush, dear ! Never mind me ; I
shall be well enough. I know — I know," choking
back a sob that rose in her throat like a stinging
blow, "that all is for the best, 'that He doeth all
things well."'

"Yes, yes," her father murmured drowsily, as
though calmed by her words and caresses. " Aye,
my child, ' though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil.' God is on the
other side, waiting — waiting — for me."

His eyelids had fallen again, and the closing words
came in a faint whisper. He was now breathing
heavily as before, and was seemingly unconscious;
and Dorothy felt that he had come back for a
moment from out the dark shadows gathering to
shut them apart, so that he .might speak to her
once more in the voice she loved so dearly.

She did not stir, but remained kneeling by the
bed, his arm around her, and his hand clasping her
fingers with marvellous firmness.

She could feel and hear the feeble beating of the
loving heart that had ever held her so tenderly.
Throbbing against her cheek, its pulses seemed to
keep rhythm with the mournful booming of the surf
on the shore.

Suddenly, like a mighty ocean of falling waters,
there came, to overwhelm her unnatural calm, the

292 From Kingdom to Colony

thought of what her world would be when that true,
loyal heart was stilled, — when she could only lay her
cheek against the earth that shut it away from her.

A giant hand seemed clutching at her throat ; the
grief, rising in mighty bursts, could find no vent in
tears, and a gasping cry sprang from her lips, causing
her to stir unconsciously within his arm.

His grasp tightened upon her hand, and her
acutely listening ears heard him whisper brokenly,
" ' Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end.' "

The words brought to her a strange comfort. And
now his feeble hand caressed her head in a wander
ing, fluttering way, and she felt as in her baby days
when he used to rock her to sleep ; for his failing voice
began to croon the old hymn he so often sang to her
then.

She crept still closer to him. She was quieted for
the moment, and filled with an awe as if angels were
all about them. Her wild grief was hushed, — the
agony of clutching pain in her throat dissolved itself
in silent tears, and the sound of the surf now seemed
a peaceful, soothing voice.

She felt as though she were going with her father
along the way through the dark valley, — even to the
very gates of jasper and pearl that would give him
entrance to the City of Light, then to close, leaving
her without.

Fainter, yet fainter grew his voice, at length dying
away altogether. She heard her name breathed
softly, just as he used to speak it when she, a little
maid, was nestling in his arms, and he wished to
assure himself of her being asleep.

From Kingdom to Colony 293

" Yes," she whispered.

" My baby, 't is growing dark, blackly dark, little
one. Ye 'd better get to bed."

She made no answer — she could not, but listened
breathlessly.

" My baby — my baby Dot. God keep my baby ! "

The words were scarcely spoken, but came like
long sighs, to mingle and die away with the night
wind moaning outside the window. And it was as if
the surf caught them, and repeated them to the
watching stars.

" God — keep — my — baby ! "

The room was still — still as the great loving heart
under her cheek. And the tide was on the ebb.

294 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER xxyn

THE summer days found Glover's regiment
stationed, a portion at Cambridge, and the
remainder on the high grounds of Roxbury, where
were also all the other Massachusetts troops, as well
as some of those from Connecticut.

John Devereux, being on duty at Cambridge, had
approved of his wife accepting Mistress Knollys' in
vitation to stop with her in Dorchester. Her brother-
in-law had been killed at Bunker Hill, and his devoted
wife, broken-hearted, died soon thereafter, thus leav
ing Mistress Knollys entirely alone.

Mary insisted upon Dorothy accompanying her,
for the girl had become greatly changed since her
father's death, and Mary, as well as Aunt Lettice,
deemed it wise to try the diverting effect of new
scenes and associations. Then, too, Dorothy had
always been a prime favorite with Mistress Knollys,
and returned sincerely the good lady's motherly
affection.

Thus it was that Aunt Lettice and 'Bitha were left
alone at the Devereux farm, whose flocks and stores
had already been much depleted by generous contri
butions sent up to the patriot army about Boston.

Mary saw her husband at rare intervals, when it
was possible for him to snatch a few hours from his
post of duty; but Hugh never came.

From Kingdom to Colony 295

Mary could readily divine the reason for this, and
so could Mistress Knollys, albeit the subject was
never mentioned between them : for soon after their
arrival, Mary, with Dorothy's consent, had told her
of all that related to the young Englishman.

At first the old lady was filled with righteous
indignation. But when she came to understand and
realize how it was with Dorothy's own feelings, she
accepted the result with the philosophy that was a
part of her sweet nature, — even smiling to herself
when she thought of the young man's rare audacity.

She had, despite her white hairs, a spice of
romance yet left in her heart. And perhaps the
memory of her own elopement, in the face of her
parents' prohibition, went far toward softening her
feeling in favor of the daring offender.

But she shook her head sadly as she thought of
her own boy, the secret of whose heart she had long
suspected, although he had not given her his confi
dence ; and her eyes moistened as she realized the
downfall of the cherished castle she had been build
ing for him, with this girl — of her own choosing —
for his wife.

Late one September day, Johnnie Strings brought
word to Dorothy that Aunt Penine lay at death's
door, and was craving to see her.

It was decided that she had better accede to her
aunt's request, and that Mary should go with her;
and so, in pursuance of arrangements made by the
pedler, they started on horseback the following morn
ing, with that wary individual as escort, and rode
directly to a certain tavern just inside the American

296 From Kingdom to Colony

lines, and known as "The Gray Horse Inn," where
they procured a conveyance to carry them the re
mainder of the journey.

Strings himself did not deem it wise to venture
nearer than this to Boston, as he was expected to
hold himself in readiness at the inn to receive some
papers to be delivered to the Commander-in-Chief
at Cambridge.

It was late in the afternoon when the two girls,
after having seen Aunt Penine and made peace with
her, hurried down the street toward the place where
their carriage was awaiting them.

The day was gray, with clouds gathering slowly,
when they had set out on foot from this point for
their visit to Aunt Penine, their driver having con
sidered it better that he should wait for^ them near
the house of an acquaintance, whose true sentiments
were known to only a few of his countrymen. And
now, as they returned, a strong east-wind was making
mournful soughings in the trees, and a downpour
of rain seemed imminent from the solidly massed
clouds overhead.

As they came down the steps of the house, Mary
noticed a man across the street, lounging under the
elms, as though awaiting some one. His tall figure
was well wrapped in a riding-cloak, whose folds he
held in a way to conceal his lower features, while his
hat, slouched over his forehead, made it still more
difficult to obtain a clear view of his face.

" Look at that man over there," she said nervously,
clutching Dorothy's arm.

" Yes, I see," Dorothy replied with no show of

From Kingdom to Colony 297

interest, as they started down the street. " What of
him?"

She was paying little heed to anything about her,
for the meeting with Aunt Penine had aroused to
new and acute paining the sense of her own great
loss.

This, thanks to the diversion afforded by her new
surroundings, had begun to be a little dulled; for
when one is young it is no easy matter for any sor
row, however heavy, to utterly crush out all the
light and hope.

Then, too, it had seemed to Dorothy a most mar
vellous thing to see Aunt Penine so softened and
repentant. And this of itself served to increase the
homesick longing the very sight of her had brought
to the girl, — a craving for the happy days of the dear
old home, when a united family gathered under its
roof, with no war-clouds darkening their hearts.

" I am sure he is the same man I noticed walking
after us when we came ; and if so, why has he been
standing there all this time?"

Mary now spoke excitedly, and as though alarmed,
glancing now and then over her shoulder at the cause
of her fears.

" He is probably attending to his own affairs, and
giving no thought to ours," Dorothy answered, with
out looking in the stranger's direction. " If not,
what then? It will be daylight for two hours to
come, and in five minutes we will be where the man
is waiting for us."

Mary said nothing more, but ventured to steal a
parting glance as they turned the corner of the

298 From Kingdom to Colony

street; and she was much disconcerted to see the
man still appearing to follow them.

They soon reached their destination and found the
vehicle waiting. A minute more and they were
seated, the driver gathered the reins, and his horses
set off at a pace bespeaking their impatience to return
to their stalls at the Gray Horse Inn.

The rain held back until they drew up in front of
the entrance. Indeed it seemed as if the storm had
waited for the girls to reach shelter, for no sooner
were they inside the house than it let go with a sud
den burst, doubtless setting in for an " all-nighter," as
Johnnie Strings averred when he met them at the
door.

It was impossible for them to continue their
journey on horseback that night, and the landlord
refused to send the carriage to Dorchester, by reason
of all his horses being needed early the following
morning to carry some supplies to the outposts.
And so, yielding to the inevitable, Mary and Dorothy
decided to pass the night at the inn, letting Johnnie
Strings, who cared nothing for the storm, go on and
explain matters to Mistress Knollys.

The Gray Horse Inn was -an old building, whose
precise age none could tell. The street whereon it
stood was little more than a lane, leading off the
main thoroughfare to Boston ; and a person outside
could easily glance through the lower windows, when
these were unshuttered, as no shrubbery veiled them.
Inside it was cheery and well-kept, and its rambling
style of construction afforded accommodation for a
surprising number of guests.

From Kingdom to Colony 299

Back of the building extended a cornfield, which
ended in a tract of woodland, while upon its town-
ward side was a sturdy growth of oak and nut trees,
encircling the cornfield, and running quite to the line
of the woods beyond.

Mistress Trask, the landlady, gave the two girls a
small parlor, communicating with a sleeping-room;
and here their supper was served.

As the buxom dame brought in the well-filled
tray, a loud, aggressive voice came through the open
door, evidently from the taproom, where a fire blazing
on the hearth — although the night was barely cold
— tempted the wayfarers to congregate.

" An' I tell ye," said the unseen speaker, " that
Boston is the heart an' mouth o' the colonies. The
wind that blows from Boston will set every weather
cock from New Hampshire to Georgia."

A silence followed, suggestive of no one caring to
dispute the assertion.

Mistress Trask, noting Mary's expression of annoy
ance and her glance toward the door, made haste to
close it. Then she explained, as she began setting
the food upon the table : " That 's only farmer Gilbert.
He 's a decent enough body when sober, but once he
gets a bit o' liquor under his waistcoat, it seems to
fly straight to his brains and addle 'em. And then
he do seem fairly grieving for a fisticuff with all
creation."

" I surely trust he will make no such disturbance
while we are in the house," Mary said uneasily.

" Never ye have any fear, dearie," replied the good
woman. She was an old acquaintance of Johnnie

300 From Kingdom to Colony

Strings, and he had duly impressed her as to the
high standing of the guests he left in her charge.

"Never ye fear," she repeated. "The sight of a
real lady is sure to be a check on his tongue an' man
ners ; an' I '11 see to it that he knows who be in this
room. 'Tis true sorry I am to have to put ye on this
lower floor; but ye see, we've strict orders to keep
the whole o' the upper floor for some gentry who
will be here by late evening."

Then bending her head quickly, she whispered
with great impressiveness, "Who, think ye, we
expect?"

" I have no idea," was Mary's indifferent answer.
She had scarcely heard the question, for wondering
what it might be that Dorothy was thinking about as
she stood by the window, from which she had drawn
away the curtain.

Certain it was that the girl could distinguish noth
ing in the pitchy darkness outside, even if she could
see through the rain-dashed panes, that looked as if
encrusted with glass beads.

Mistress Trask's information — whispered, like her
question, as if she feared the furniture might hear her
words — caused Mary to sit very erect, with kindling
eyes and indrawn breath.

" Hush-h," warned the landlady, with a broad
smile of delight at the surprise she had aroused.
" Hush-h ; we was ordered on no account to let it
get out."

"Dot, did you hear what she said?" Mary asked,
when the two, left to themselves, sat down to the
tempting supper.

From Kingdom to Colony 301

Dorothy shook her head, wondering the while at
Mary's agitation.

" She said," and Mary lowered her own voice, " that
the Commander-in-Chief is to arrive here soon, and
that he will stop here all night, as there is to be a meet
ing of some sort with many of his principal officers."

" General Washington ! " A new light came to
Dorothy's face, kindling a rush of color in her
cheeks, and sending a glitter from her eyes that
routed all their sad abstraction.

Mary nodded.

" I wish we could see him," said Dorothy. " Oh —
I must get a peep at him."

" We will certainly try to see him," Mary agreed,
adding eagerly, "And oh, Dot — mayhap Jack will
be of them."

" And perhaps Hugh," Dorothy said impulsively.
Then quickly, as she saw the sudden change in
Mary's face, "Whatever is the matter with Hugh
Knollys, I wonder? He has not been to see his
mother since we went to stop with her ; and I have
noticed that whenever his name is mentioned, you
and Jack — and even his mother — look oddly.
Has he done anything amiss?"

" Nothing, indeed, that I know of." And Mary lifted
her cup of tea so that it hid her eyes for the moment.

" I have wished so often that he would come —
I should like to see him once more. How long —
how very long it seems since he left us last fall ! "
Dorothy sighed; and Mary knew it was not for
Hugh, but because of all that had happened since
his going.

302 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER XXVIII

" /~\H, Mary, which one of them do you suppose is

V-/ he?" whispered Dorothy, as the two girls
hung over the balustrade of the upper hall, watching
the figures entering through the outer door, all of
them so muffled in storm-cloaks as to look precisely
alike, save as to height.

The landlord, with much obsequious bustling, had
hastened forward to meet them. His wife was beside
him, and she had just summoned a servant to assist
in taking the wet wrappings from the new arrivals as
she stood courtesying before them.

" The rooms be aired, lighted, and fires made, as
ordered, sir," Trask was saying.

In one hand he held aloft a clumsy brass candle
stick holding three lighted candles, while the other
hand was placed over his heart, as if that member
needed to be repressed under the well-filled propor
tions of his ample waistcoat; and he was bowing
with great servility before a figure whose stature far
exceeded that of the other new-comers, but whose
face, hidden by his hat, could not be seen by the
eager onlookers at the top of the stairs.

"Oh, Dot, they are coming straight up here,"
Mary gasped ; and both girls sprang back in dismay
at sight of the procession beginning to file up the
stairway, preceded by the landlord, who now carried
a candlestick in either hand.

From Kingdom to Colony 303

Scarcely knowing what they were doing, and in
tent solely upon concealing themselves, they darted
through the doorway of the nearest room, which was
lighted only by a cheery wood fire.

" They will surely see us as they go by," whispered
Mary, for, once inside, they saw that the door by
which they had entered was in the extreme corner of
the room, rendering the entire interior visible to a
passer-by.

" Let us shut the door," Dorothy suggested.

But Mary said quickly, "No, that will never do.
The landlord may have left it open, and would notice
it being closed."

It had not occurred to them that all this was prob
ably on account of the room being one of those
assigned to the new guests, for Mary had given but
slight heed to what Mistress Trask said as to the en
tire upper floor being taken, and Dorothy had heard
naught of the matter beyond what Mary told her.

" Here is another room," said the younger girl
joyfully, for her alert eyes had spied a half-closed
door communicating with an inner and dark apart
ment.

It took them only a moment to gain this place of
refuge and shut the door ; then, standing close to it,
they listened for any sound to indicate the passage
of the procession down the hall, and so leave them
an opportunity to return unobserved to their own
apartments.

" I wish we had never done so foolish a thing,"
Mary said in a low voice. She was breathing rapidly,
and trembling from agitation.

304 From Kingdom to Colony

" So do I — as it is," was Dorothy's hurried answer.
" But if I only could have seen him, so as to know
him, I should not care."

The next minute they were awakened to new dis
may by the sound of heavy footsteps entering the
outer room. Then they heard the landlord say,
" This is the room, your Excellency; I trust it be such
as to suit you."

A calm, full-toned voice replied : " Thank you,
landlord ; everything seems quite as it should be.
The other gentlemen will be here shortly; show
them up at once, when they arrive."

"Yes, sir — certainly, sir," Trask replied. "This is
the bedroom, sir." And the sound of his heavy feet
approaching the door caused still greater terror to
the trembling girls.

The latch was actually lifted, when the other voice
arrested any farther movement by saying with a note
of impatience: "Yes, yes — very well, landlord. We
should like supper as speedily as it can be served,
and as there will be many of us, we will have it down
stairs."

Trask seemed now to take his leave, for they heard
the outer door close. Then the same voice, mellow
and dignified as at first, came to them again.

" No doubt, Dalton, they have been detained by
the storm."

" Faith, sir, 't is little such a man as Glover cares
for water," replied another voice, more jovial and
evidently younger; "although, to be sure, he may
prefer the water to be salt, being more used to that
flavor."

From Kingdom to Colony 305

Mary pulled Dorothy by the arm.

" We must walk straight out of here," she whis
pered, " this very minute. There is nothing else
for us to do."

" Well, — go on." The words came brokenly from
the younger girl's lips, for her heart was beating in
a way to make her actually dizzy.

Then, as Mary hesitated, Dorothy's sturdy self-
reliance returned ; and pushing the door wide open,
she passed in front of her sister-in-law and stepped
forth into the presence of four officers, wearing the
uniform of the Continental army.

Three of them were wandering about the room, as
though awaiting the orders of the fourth, — a very tall
man, of massive frame, seated by a table.

He was examining a sealed packet, and seemed
about to open it under the light of the candles, but
looked up quickly as the childish figure came and
stood directly in front of him. Then, as his large
gray-blue eyes glanced at the taller one, he arose to
his feet, with the unopened packet in his hand.

The other officers had come to a standstill, as
though rooted, in various parts of the room, and
stood staring open-mouthed at the fair intruders, —
a very evident admiration soon taking the place of
their amazement.

Their commander now addressed the two girls,
looking down from his great height upon the faces
wherein embarrassment and veneration seemed hope
lessly mingled.

" Well, ladies," he demanded, — his words and
manner, albeit perfectly respectful and courteous,

20

306 From Kingdom to Colony

tinged with sternness — "what is the meaning of
this?"

They both knew themselves to be in the presence
of the great man whom they had desired so much
to look upon, and they could see nothing in the
room but the impressive figure now facing them with
such an air of dignity and command.

There was about him the very atmosphere of self-
nobility, self-reliance ; and with it that supreme con
trol which, being the ruler of his own nature, enabled
him to govern all the more surely those about him.
The steady gaze of the unusually large eyes, every
line of the firm mouth and chin, bespoke a well-
disciplined mind, and the keen intuitions of a born
leader of men.

Mary was dumb from mortification, not unmixed
with actual fear, for she could see no easy way of
extricating themselves from their dilemma; but Dor
othy plucked up heart of grace, and answered, as she
dropped a little courtesy, " It is only that we wanted
to see you, sir."

There was a spontaneous laugh from the three
officers; but Washington checked it by turning to
them with a frown.

And yet there was a faint smile touching the
corners of his own lips, relaxing their severity, as he
looked down at the girl and asked, in the quizzing
tone he might have used toward a child, " Well, little
one, now that you have seen me, what will you? "

"That you will pardon us, sir," Mary answered
instantly, as she moved forward to Dorothy's side.

Washington bent his head graciously to her. But

From Kingdom to Colony 307

his smiling eyes went back to the younger girl's face,
although his words were now in reply to Mary.

" There is surely little to pardon. Rather let me
thank you that I am held in such esteem, and thought
deserving of so much consideration." Then he added
with a glance that embraced them both, " May I know
your names? "

" This is my sister, Dorothy Devereux, of Marble-
head ; and I am Mary Broughton Devereux, wife of
the officer of that name in Colonel Glover's regiment,
now stationed at Cambridge."

Her composure had fully returned, and she spoke
with perfect freedom — indeed with a touch of pride
— as she looked up fearlessly into Washington's face.

" Aye ; " and now his look and voice showed naught
but cordiality. " I am happy, ladies, to make your
acquaintance. I happen to know your husband,
Mistress Devereux, for my present headquarters at
Cambridge are in the house formerly occupied by
Colonel Glover and his officers.1 I had also a slight
acquaintance with your father-in-law."

" Oh, sir — you say that you knew my father? "

The lines of his face relaxed still more as he
regarded the little figure standing before him, her
hands clasped impulsively, and the great dark eyes,
now glittering with tears, raised in a worshipful gaze
more eagerly questioning than was even the sweet
voice.

"Aye, child, I knew him. We met at the house
of your townsman, Colonel Lee."

"He is — perhaps you do not know — my father

1 This mansion was afterwards the home of Longfellow.

308 From Kingdom to Colony

died this spring." And crystal drops welled from the
big eyes and hung suspended on the curling lashes.

" Aye, my dear child," and a note of the tenderest
sympathy came to the deep voice, " so I heard
at the time. God grant we may all be as well pre
pared as was your good father, when the end shall
come."

There was a pause, filled by the crackling of the
fire, whose gleams made a bright sparkle of the
drops on Dorothy's swart lashes before she could
wipe them away. The other officers were now
exchanging significant glances, and looking at the
girl with much interest.

The silence was broken by Mary, who was secretly
burning to escape. She had waited until she met
Washington's eyes; then, as he glanced at her, she
made a deep courtesy and said, " And now, sir, if you
please, we will retire to our own apartments below
stairs."

" Wait but a moment," he replied. His eyes had
gone back to Dorothy, who was standing with clasped
hands, looking into the fire, and forgetful of all else
than the sorrow his words had awakened within her
heart. " Are you abiding under this roof, Mistress
Devereux? "

" Only for this one night, sir," Mary answered.
" We are stopping at Dorchester, with our old friend
Mistress Knollys, and have been toward Boston to
see a dying relative. We were returning from there
when the storm overtook us, and are obliged to
remain here until to-morrow. We shall set out
again in the morning, sir."

From Kingdom to Colony 309

"Not alone, surely? " he said with a slight frown.
" It is scarce prudent for you two young ladies to be
travelling these roads, at such a time as this, without
escort."

" We had an escort, sir, but he went on to Dor
chester, to assure Mistress Knollys of our safety.
He will return in the morning, or else send some one
for us."

" That is more as it should be," Washington said
with an approving nod. " And in case no one
comes for you, I myself will take pleasure in seeing
that you are provided with a suitable escort."

Mary courtesied once more, and both girls mur
mured their thanks.

The sad look had departed from Dorothy's face as
she now stood watching the great man whom she
might never have the opportunity of beholding
again ; and while so engaged, it happened that one
of the buttons of his coat came directly opposite her
small nose.

At first she looked at it without any interest, —
almost mechanically. Then she was overcome by a
sudden intense .desire to possess it as a souvenir, to
be treasured for all time to come.

The feeling grew stronger each moment, and there
is no saying to what lengths her childish impulsive
ness might have spurred her, had it not been for the
keen looks bent upon her by the officers at the other
side of the room.

Washington seemed to be conscious of this, for his
eyes took a curious expression as he said, looking
down into the girl's earnest face, " I am tempted to

310 From Kingdom to Colony •

ask, little one, what great subject makes your eyes
so solemn."

He spoke more than half jestingly, and it was
apparent that he judged her to be much younger
than her actual years, because of her diminutive
stature and childish appearance.

" I was wishing, sir, that you would give me some
thing to remember you by," was her frank answer;
" that is," — hesitating a little — "I was wishing I
could have something to keep all my life."

She stopped, scarcely knowing how to express
herself, while Mary stared at her with manifest
disapproval.

" I understand, my child," Washington said, now
looking at her more gravely.

He paused, and seemed to be considering the
matter. Then he laid his hand lightly upon the girl's
shoulder, much in the way a father would have
done.

" I shall take pleasure, little one, in giving you
something by which to remember me."

Resuming his seat by the table, he took up the
packet he was examining when they interrupted him
a few minutes before.

He now opened it hastily, and a number of papers
dropped out.

One of these he picked up, and tore from it a strip,
which he looked at carefully, as though to be certain
it was clear of writing; then, dipping a quill into the
ink, he wrote a few words upon it.

"Take this, my child," he said, extending it to her,
" and should you ever be in need of any service

From Kingdom to Colony 311

within my power to render, you have but to send this
slip of paper, to remind me that I have promised to
assist you."

Dorothy stood speechless, well-nigh bewildered, her
eyes fixed upon his face, now alight with an aspect
almost paternal.

She said nothing, did not even thank him; but
taking the paper, she pressed her lips to the hand
that proffered it, and then, turning quickly, sped
from the room.

" We are most honored, sir — you are very kind,"
said Mary, who felt it incumbent upon her to express
their gratitude in more formal fashion than Dorothy
had adopted.

Washington was looking at the door through which
the girl had disappeared, but now he turned and
bowed courteously.

" Much of the obligation is my own," he replied
with courtly gallantry. Then his manner changed as
he said : " Your sister is a sweet little maid, — it is
most sad that she should have lost her father. He
was, as is his son, a worthy and stanch patriot
These are troublous times, Mistress Devereux, and
one so young and charming as she may come to feel
the need of a protector; although, from all I have
seen of her brother — your husband — it might well
be supposed my own poor services would never be
called into use."

"I thank you, sir; and I am sure Dorothy does
the same — and both of us with all our hearts." And
Mary ventured to extend her hand.

Washington arose from his chair, and his large,

312 From Kingdom to Colony

strong fingers closed about her own slender ones in a
firm clasp, which she felt still tingling in their tips
when she found Dorothy waiting for her at the head
of the stairs.

" Oh, Mary," she burst out, looking as though
something were amiss, " I am glad you are come.
I 've been so affrighted."

Then, as they started down the stairs, she told how
a dreadful-appearing man had come out of the tap
room, and stood glaring at her, as he demanded
fiercely to know her business.

" I was so scared that I could not speak, and I did
not dare go back into the room. I am sure the man
was full of drink."

"Where is he? I see no one." And Mary
craned her neck to look over the rail into the hall
below.

" He went back into the taproom when he found I
would not answer him."

They had now reached the foot of the staircase ;
and as though waiting for the clicking of their high
heels on the oaken floor, the taproom door opened
suddenly, and a great hulking fellow, with a red face,
topped by a wild shock of black hair, came stagger
ing against them.

Both girls cried out, and started to fly up the
stairs. But they were reassured by the advent of
Mistress Trask, who chanced to be coming down the
hall, and who spoke sharply to the man, bidding him
have a care how he ran into ladies.

" 'T is only Farmer Gilbert," she said, turning to
her frightened guests, and seeming surprised to find

From Kingdom to Colony 3 1 3

them in that part of the house. " There 's no cause
to be alarmed, my pretties."

Mary glanced with disgust at the drunkard, who
was now attempting a maudlin apology. But she
said nothing, either to him or to the landlady, and
went her way with Dorothy.

No sooner had they closed the door of their own
apartments than they hurried to the light and ex
amined the precious slip of paper.

It read: "A solemn promise given to Mistress
Dorothy Devereux, of Marblehead. G. Washington."

" Oh, Dot," Mary exclaimed, " I never thought, —
we have told him an untruth ! "

Dorothy was still looking at the paper, but at
Mary's alarming words she raised her eyes in wonder.

" You are not Mistress Dorothy Devereux, but
Mistress — "

" Sh-h ! " cried Dot, putting her hand quickly over
Mary's lips. Then they looked at one another and
laughed, but uneasily.

314 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER XXIX

NEITHER of the girls found much rest during
the night, owing to the strangeness of their
surroundings and the exciting experiences that had
come to them. In addition to this, their wakefulness
was increased by the noise of the gale outside.

The rain had ceased, but the wind at times attained
such violence as to rattle the casements like the jar
ring of a cannonade. Then its force would lessen,
and it would moan about the gables and down the
chimneys with a sound as though the patriots already
fallen might be lamenting the long-continued siege of
Boston.

With these deeper tones there would come loud
shrieks, like the laughter of fiends, as if the Prince
of Darkness and his legions were making merry over
the impending downfall of goodly customs, uprooted
by slaughter and bloodshed.

During the earlier part of the night there was some
unusually loud talking outside, seeming to indicate
a new excitement.

This caused the girls fresh alarm ; but the matter
was explained by the landlady, when she brought
their breakfast in the morning.

A redcoat had been caught in the cornfield back
of the house, and later on, his horse was found
fastened in the woods near by.

From Kingdom to Colony 3 1 5

When brought, as he was at once, before the
Commander-in-Chief, the prisoner had denied indig
nantly the imputation of being a spy. Yet he had
refused stubbornly to explain the reason for his
being outside his own lines, and so close to the spot
where a conference was being held between Wash
ington and his officers.

He wore the British uniform, but this was con
cealed by an ordinary riding-cloak, and on his head
was a civilian's hat.

" So," said the landlady, after telling the story, " if
he be no spy, 't will be a hard matter for him to prove
it, with everything lookin' so black. An', oh, mis
tress, he 's as handsome as a picter, an' don't look
to be twenty-five. It do seem a mortal pity that he
must hang."

" Hang ! " repeated Dorothy, with horror. " Why
must he hang? "

" Why, surely ye know, mistress," the woman ex
plained, " in war-times a spy be always hanged."

"Is it not dreadful — and will they hang him?"
Mary asked with a shudder, staring into the face of
the voluble landlady, who was now arranging the
dishes upon the table.

" So the talk goes 'mongst the men. They had
much ado with Farmer Gilbert, who was for takin' the
young man an' hangin' him there an' then. But he
had to be brought afore General Washington him
self. An' now he's locked up in one o' the upper
rooms, with Tommy Macklin pacin' up an' down
afore the door, like he was measurin' the hall for a
new carpet, 'stead o' wearin' out the strip I wove with
my own hands, out o' rags."

316 From Kingdom to Colony

Dorothy, who sat facing Mary, her elbows on the
table, and her chin resting in her small palms, now
drew the landlady's attention by inquiring if she
knew the prisoner's name.

"Yes, — I did get to hear it when General Wash
ington asked him ; for, to say truth, I was listenin'
outside the door. He answered up fair enough, an'
spoke it like there was naught to be ashamed of in
the matter, neither. 'Twas Captain Southern."

She heard a half-choked gasp from Dorothy's
lips, and saw the look that came to Mary's face as
her eyes turned like a flash toward the younger girl,

" Is it possible he can be known to ye? " she asked
quickly.

"Yes, — I think we met him once," Mary answered
falteringly. " That is, we met a young man of the
same name. But he was not a captain — only a cor
net of dragoons."

" Still, it is like to be the same man," the landlady
said rather insistingly, as though hoping that such
was the fact. " Cornets grow quick to be captains in
these woful days, if they be but brave, which surely
this young man is, unless his looks belie him."

Neither of the girls had paid any attention to her,
but sat motionless, each with her eyes riveted upon
the other's face, as if seeking to read, her thoughts.

But now they both looked at Mistress Trask, whose
voice had lost its speculative tone, and was filled with
intense earnestness.

" Oh, mistress," she was saying, still addressing
Mary, " mayhap he be the same man ye Ve known.
An' if this be so, I do beg ye to try what prayin' the

From Kingdom to Colony 317

favor of his pardon from Washington will do. 'T is
a foul death — to be hanged ; an' such as he ought
surely to die in their beds, unless they come to die in
battle. The General be still here, 'though Colonel
Glover an' many o' the other officers left early this
mornin'. If they should take the young man out an'
hang him, I 'd never 'bide here another day. Will
ye not go, mistress, an' try to save his life ? "

Before Mary could reply, Dorothy spoke up.

" I will go," she said quietly, taking her elbows
from the table, and with an expression in her eyes
such as Mary never saw there before.

" Oh, do, mistress ! " the landlady exclaimed eagerly,
looking at the girl with admiration. " Pray do, an'
God will bless ye for it."

But Mary protested, although weakly, and feeling
that she had but little hope of success.

" No, Dot, — no," she said. " You must not, — it
would never do. And then it might not be the same
one, after all."

But her own belief contradicted her words, and
sounded in her voice even as she uttered them. She
was certain it was he who had appeared to be watch
ing them when they came from Aunt Penine ; and he
had doubtless followed them to the tavern.

Dorothy made no reply until she drained a glass
of milk the landlady filled for her; then she arose
from the table.

" I am going," she said, as calmly as before.
" Please, " seeing that Mary was about to renew her
objections, " say no more about it. I am going —
and I prefer to go alone."

3 1 8 From Kingdom to Colony

But Mary could not restrain herself.

" Oh Dot," she asked tremulously, " do you dare
do such a thing?"

"Yes, I dare do it, because I must, — because
there is nothing else for me to do."

" Let her go, mistress," urged the landlady ;
" surely there be naught to fear for her." Then she
said confidently, as Dorothy passed through the
door and out into the hall : " She be that young an'
tender that no one would harm her, — least of all, Gen
eral Washington. No doubt she '11 be just the one
to touch his heart with her pleadin' for the young
man. No one would have the heart to say no to her,
she be so little an' sweet."

Mary felt her own helplessness to turn Dorothy
from her purpose. Indeed she did not dare to say,
even to herself, that it was not the girl's solemn
duty to do as she had proposed.

And so she sat silent, with clasped hands, musing
over all these things, while Mistress Trask removed
the dishes. And while she was doing this, the land
lady told for the first time — the excitement having
driven it from her mind — how Johnnie Strings had
appeared at an early hour, and bade her say that he
was forced to go across country to carry a despatch,
but would return by noon, to escort the two girls to
Dorchester.

Dorothy took her way up the stairs toward the
room above. All the girlishness within her was now
dead, and the expression in her pale face was that
of a woman — and one whose heart was wrung by
bitter sorrow.

From Kingdom to Colony 319

The door was closed, and in front of it a man was
seated. A musket lay across his knees, and his head
was sunk on his breast as if he were buried in his own
meditations. But as Dorothy drew near, he looked
up, and she saw that it was none other than Fisher
man Doak.

" Mistress Dorothy ! " he gasped, staring open-
mouthed at her white face as though doubtful of her
being a reality.

" Yes," she said quickly, " and I am glad it is
you, Doak."

" Sweet little mistress," he exclaimed, amazement
showing in every lineament of his honest visage, " in
Heaven's name, whatever be ye doin' here?"

" Never mind, Doak," she answered, " what I am
doing here. I wish to see — to speak with General
Washington, and at once."

" You — you?" he stammered, rising slowly to his
feet, and shaking himself in the effort to collect his
scattered wits.

" Yes," she said impatiently. " You are on guard
here — he knows you are outside his door? "

" Why, yes, mistress — o' course. I 'm to be here
in case he needs aught, as well as to keep folk out.
He be alone, an' has ordered thet he 's not to be
disturbed."

" If he is alone," and her tone expressed relief,
" so much the better for me. I must have speech
with him this very minute."

Doak opened his mouth in remonstrance, but she
would not permit him to speak.

" Do you hear? " she demanded. " I must see him

320 From Kingdom to Colony

this minute. Go and tell him so ; and tell him it is
upon a matter of life and death."

He said nothing more, but, looking more dazed
than ever, turned and rapped on the door.

A voice whose deep tones had not yet left Dorothy's
ears gave permission to enter, and Doak, after bid
ding her to stop where she was, went into the room.

For a second Dorothy stood hesitating. Then a
look of fixed resolution came to her face, and before
the door could close after the fisherman-soldier, she
stepped forward and followed him.

Washington was — as when she intruded upon him
before — seated at a table. But now he was writing ;
and as the two entered the room, he looked up as
though annoyed at the interruption.

But Dorothy, pushing Doak aside, advanced with
an impetuosity that gave no opportunity for ques
tioning or reproof, and took away all need of explana
tion from the astonished guardian of the great man's
privacy.

"You gave me this, sir — last night," she said,
holding out the paper, and speaking in the same fear
less, trusting manner she would have adopted toward
her own father, " and you will surely remember what
you promised."

As she came forward, Washington, seeing who it
was, laid down his pen, and his face took the expres
sion it had borne when he was talking with her the
evening before. There was a tender, a welcoming
light in his eyes, as though her coming were a pleas
ure, — as if it brought relief from the contemplation
of the grave responsibilities resting upon him.

From Kingdom to Colony 321

He arose from his chair, and taking the paper from
her hand, laid it upon the table. Then he turned to her
again and said smilingly, " My dear child, the promise
was surely of small worth if I could forget it so soon
after it was given."

But there was no smile upon the face into which he
was looking, and its earnestness seemed now to bring
to him the conviction that the girl had come upon no
trifling matter.

He bade Doak resume his post outside the door,
and to permit no one to enter, howsoever important
the business might be. Then, when the fisherman had
gone, he invited Dorothy to be seated, and asked her
to tell him the object of her coming.

He sat down again by the table, but she remained
standing, and now came close to him, her clasped
hands and pleading eyes fully as beseeching as the
words in which she framed her petition.

"Oh, sir — I have come to beg that you will not
hang the English officer whom I hear you suspect of
being a spy."

Washington started in surprise; a stern light
gathered in his eyes, and he looked as though illy
pleased.

Dorothy was quick to see this, and felt that her
only hope of success lay in telling him the entire
truth.

This she did, confiding in him as freely and fully as
though she were his daughter.

When she ended, he sat for a time as if pondering
over her story, and the request to which it was the
sequel. He had not interrupted her by so much as a

322 From Kingdom to Colony

single word, but his eyes had been fixed upon her
face with an intensity that softened as she went
on, in her own impulsive way, to tell him of her
troubles.

Presently he said : " It is truly a sad tangle, my
child, — one scarce proper to think any gentleman
would seek to bring into your young life. But I am
not yet old enough to hold that we should judge hot
headed youth with too great severity. Indeed," the
grave lines of his face relaxing a little, " in this case
I can see that the young man had strong temptation
to forget himself, and to do as he did."

He paused and looked at her keenly, as if search
ing for the answer to a question seeking solution in
his own mind.

She stood silently waiting, and he continued : " First
of all, I must know of a certainty as to one matter, in
order that I may act with discretion. My child,"
and he took one of her hands in his own, " do not
fear to show me your heart. Show it to me as you
would to your own dear father, were he, rather than I,
asking you. Tell me — do you love this man who is
really your husband? "

" Yes, sir," she answered, with no sign of hesi
tancy, as she lifted her head and looked at him
through the tears his words had brought to her eyes,
" I do love him."

Washington smiled, as if relieved of a perplexing
problem.

" This brings about a very different order of affairs,"
he said in a way that made her heart bound with
hope. " Now it may be possible that this captain is

From Kingdom to Colony 323

not your Cornet Southern, although I think there
is small room for doubt in the matter. But, in order
to solve the question, I will have him brought here.
Do you, my child, conceal yourself behind the cur
tains of that window; and if he proves to be the
officer of whom we have been speaking, you have but
to show yourself to assure me of the fact. If not,
then remain in hiding ; and after putting a few ques
tions to him, I will have him taken back to his
room."

Doak was despatched to carry out the order, while
Dorothy hid herself in the curtains, — trembling with
agitation when the sound of footsteps was heard again
outside the door.

The fisherman entered with the prisoner, and
Dorothy, looking through the slightly parted drapery,
saw the olive face and purple-blue eyes of the man
she loved.

His long boots were splashed with the mire of the
highway, his uniform showed traces of the struggle of
the night before, and his curly hair was dishevelled."

More than this, his haggard face and dark-circled
eyes gave proof of a sleepless and anxious night.

But as he came into the room he drew himself erect,
and met unflinchingly the stern eyes of the man in
whose hands lay his fate.

The door had no sooner closed upon Doak's re
treating figure than Dorothy stepped from behind
the curtains.

The young man gave a violent start, and the arms
that had been folded across his chest fell to his sides,
as he uttered her name, — at the same time taking a

324 From Kingdom to Colony

step toward her. Then he came to a standstill, and
passed his hand over his eyes, as if to clear them of
something that impeded his vision.

And there was reason for this, as Dorothy did not
speak, and stood motionless, her hands clasped in
front of her, while she looked at him with an ex
pression he seemed unable to define.

Washington's face had grown less severe as he
noted all this ; and while the two still remained gazing
at one another, his voice broke the silence.

"The cause of your presence in this neighborhood,
Captain Southern, which your gallantry forbade you
to explain, even in the face of an ignominious death,
has been revealed to me by one whose truth and
fidelity no human being should know better than
yourself. She has told me that which leads me to
take upon myself the responsibility of clearing you
from the very grave suspicions aroused by your
action of last night, and of holding you simply as
a prisoner of war. For all this, you have Mistress
Dorothy to thank — for your life and your restored
honor."

No pen can describe the emotions of the two
listeners as they heard these words, nor could any
pencil portray the reflection of these emotions upon
their faces.

Southern's expression was that of thankfulness,
mingled with amazement, — doubt, as though he
feared the treachery of his own senses, while Dor
othy's face became all aglow with delight and tri
umph at her success.

The young man stepped impetuously toward Wash-

From Kingdom to Colony 325

ington, and was about to speak, but the latter raised
his hand.

" You, sir, as an officer of the King," he said
gravely, " know the weight of such a debt as this, and
no words of mine can add to the sense of your obli
gation to her. This being so," and he glanced from
one to the other of them, while the suggestion of a
smile relieved the sternness of his face, " I will leave
you with her for a short time, in order that you may
express your gratitude in fitting terms, while I con
sider what course is best for me to pursue in carry
ing out the purpose I have in view."

With this he arose from his chair, and bowing
to them, withdrew to the inner room, closing the
door after him.

For a single moment there was silence between the
two he had left alone, and no one could now accuse
Dorothy of any lack of color in her cheeks.

" Dorothy — sweetheart, what does all this mean? "

The young man spoke in almost a whisper, looking
at her as though she were a vision, a part of some
strange dream. His voice faltered, and his eyes moved
restlessly as he came toward her, walking slowly and
uncertainly.

But Dorothy, her wonted self-possession and cour
age now fully restored, did not wait for him to come
to her. She advanced smilingly, her eyes alight
with happiness, and laid both her hands within
his.

Then, while they stood face to face, she told him
hurriedly of what she had done.

While she was speaking, he looked at her in that

326 From Kingdom to Colony

same queer way, his eyes wandering over her face
and figure, while now and again he pressed her little
soft hands, as though to gain through them still
greater assurance of the blessed reality.

But when she finished, his eyes ceased their roam
ing, and became fixed upon her beaming face.

" My darling," he said slowly, " do you realize the
full measure of what you have done for me? Do you
know that you not only have given me life, but have
saved me from that which to a soldier is more ter
rible than the torments of hell itself, — the disgrace
of being hanged as a spy? "

His voice broke, and a spasm of pain shot across
his face. Then he exclaimed in a tone filled with self-
condemnation, " And this you have done for the man
who forced his love upon you, — who married you by
a trick — aye, by violence ; the man who — "

She drew one hand away from his grasp and put it
firmly against his lips.

" Stop ! " she commanded, with all her natural im-
periousness. " I '11 listen to no more talk such as
that. Had you not married me in the way you did,
't is not likely you would have wed me at all, for I
have come to know that I am no girl to be won by
soft speeches, and sighs, and tears."

" What ! " he cried, not believing his ears. " Can it
be possible — "

He had no need to finish the question, for her arms
stole up and went around his neck, and her blushing
face was hidden over his heart.

" My love — my wife — can it be that you love me
at last?"

From Kingdom to Colony 327

" At last ! " She lifted her head and looked into his
eyes. " I believe I have loved you from the very first

— since the time you opened your eyes when I held
your head that day on the rocks. I loved you when
you kissed me, the time we met in the wood, and I
loved you when we stood before Parson Weeks ; and

— I '11 love you all my life."

He drew her to him with a force almost rough in
its fierceness, and covered her face with kisses.

" God be praised for those words ! " he exclaimed.
Then he sighed deeply.

" I have been such a miserable dog, sweetheart,
ever since the night I left Marblehead. I was hoping
until then to receive some little word bidding me
come to you, — to come and tell your people the
truth, and face their opinion and anger, such as I
deserved for what I had done. But after I left you
that night, I lost all hope, and prayed only that a
bullet might set me free from my self-reproaches
and misery."

"Oh — you wicked — " Dorothy began; but he
silenced her with a kiss.

" I have just received tidings of my father's illness,
and his wish for my return," he continued, " and
was thinking of setting sail for home, when my eyes
were blessed with sight of you yesterday, and I was
dragged out here by a force I was unable to resist.
I hoped to have speech with you somehow, if only
that I might implore your forgiveness before I went
away."

" And now you know there is naught to forgive,"
she said, smiling up into his face.

328 From Kingdom to Colony

Then she drew herself a little away from him, and
taking hold of the collar of his red coat as though
to detain him, added softly, "But you '11 not go now,
will you?"

He laughed exultingly; but his face became sad
again as he stroked the ripples of curling hair clus
tering about her forehead.

" It would seem, sweetheart," he said, " as if that
might be the wisest course for me to pursue ; for how
can I find heart to take up arms against the country
and people — aye, against the very kindred — of my
own wife? "

A look of sorrowing dread swept all the light from
Dorothy's face; but the brightness returned some
what as he said more cheerily: " Well, well, my little
one, it is waste of time to talk of such matters now,
for you see I am not free to go anywhere just at
this present. ' Sufficient for the day,' you know, ' is
the evil thereof; ' and surely we have evil to fear,
even yet. But nothing can daunt me now — now
that my honor is cleared ; and that, too, by such an
unlooked-for ray of light from Heaven, and with it
the knowledge that you love me, and dared so
bravely to save my life."

The door-knob was now rattled with a warning sig
nificance, and the two sprang away from each other
as General Washington slowly entered the room.

His face bore an odd expression, and one that
was pleasant to look upon, as he glanced from
Dorothy to her husband. Then his eyes returned
to the girl's face, and he asked, with no attempt to
conceal a smile, "Well, my child, is all settled to

From Kingdom to Colony 329

your satisfaction, and " — after a second's pause —
"liking?"

She tried to answer him, but could not. Her heart
was too overflowing with gratitude, happiness, hope.

They all seemed struggling for precedence in the
words that should come from her lips, and she found
herself unable to speak.

Her eyes filled, and she looked up as though
imploring him to find in her face all that her lips
failed to say. Then she sprang forward, and seizing
his hand, pressed it to her lips.

He appeared to understand fully the cause of her
silence and agitation, — to know and appreciate the
emotions that rendered her dumb; and the lines of
his face resumed their accustomed gravity as he with
drew his hand from her clasp and laid it gently upon
the curly head so far beneath his own majestic height.

" God bless you, my daughter, and keep you —
always ! "

No father could have spoken more tenderly to his
child ; and the words came to Dorothy as a benedic
tion from him who had so recently passed away.

Washington now addressed himself to Captain
Southern.

" You have in this child a priceless treasure," he
said. " God grant that you ne'er forget the fact, nor
the debt you owe her."

" I never will — I never can, sir," the young man
answered with unmistakable sincerity, as he came
and took his wife by the hand. " Of that, sir, you
may rest assured," he added, in a voice shaking with
strong emotion.

330 From Kingdom to Colony

Washington bent his head in approval. " For the
present," he continued, " I deem it proper that you
remain as before. I purpose stopping here until
afternoon, and will then have you taken to Cam
bridge, unless some unforeseen matter shall arise to
alter my plans."

The prisoner bowed in silence; then, as Wash
ington went toward the door to summon Doak, the
young man turned to smile hopefully into his wife's
eyes.

" Keep a brave heart, sweet one," he whispered,
" and trust in my love and truth. Naught can ever
part us now."

A minute later the door closed after the fisherman
and his charge.

" Keep the paper, child," Washington said to
Dorothy, as soon as they were alone, " and remem
ber that the promise it contains is renewed for the
future. In such days as are about us, it is not im
probable to reckon upon its being needed again —
although scarcely for a like purpose."

He smiled, as his fingers closed upon the small
hand within which he placed the eventful slip of
paper. "And now go, my daughter," he added,
" and may God bless you. Trust in Him, and He
will surely watch over your life, and make all well
in the end."

From Kingdom to Colony 331

CHAPTER XXX

HAD Dorothy been less absorbed by anxiety and
grief when she was making her way to General
Washington's apartments, she would have heard the
door of the taproom open softly as she reached the
foot of the stairs leading to the second floor.

Farmer Gilbert's head was thrust from the open
ing, and his fierce eyes watched the slight figure
ascend to the landing above and turn in the direc
tion of the rooms occupied by the Commander-in-
Chief.

As soon as she was out of sight, he glanced up
and down the hall, to make certain no one was near,
and slipped cautiously out. Then quickly removing
his heavy shoes, he stole, cat-like, up the stairway.

His progress was stayed by the voices of the girl
and Doak ; and raising his head until his eyes were
on a level with the floor, he saw them enter the room
together.

"Whatever be she up to?" he muttered. Then
hearing footsteps in the hall below, he sped noise
lessly up the few remaining steps, and made haste to
hide himself in Mistress Trask's linen-press, standing
only a short distance away, and which afforded him
ample opportunity for watching, as he held the door
ajar.

" Aha, my lady spy," he whispered to himself,
" I '11 keep my eye on ye — an' my ears, too. Ye

332 From Kingdom to Colony

can't fool Jason Gilbert, 'though ye may fool some
as thinks they know more as I."

He saw Doak fetch the British prisoner, and noted
the length of time the young man remained in the
room whither the girl had gone.

" Aye — him outside, last night, an' she on the
inside," his maudlin thoughts ran on. " They
thought to hev it all their own way, — to tell the
Britishers the names o' the officers that were here,
an' all that was goin' on. An' now here be General
Washington himself, I '11 be bound, lettin' her coax
him to save t' other spy from hangin', when they
both ought to be strung up together. I wish now
I'd not set up a hello that brought the men out o'
the inn, but had jest given him a crack o'er the head
myself, to settle the matter, an* so hev none o' this
triflin', with her tryin' to pull the wool over the
General's eyes. But I guess he '11 know 'em for the
pair o' d d British spies they be."

His lips moved in unworded mutterings, his eyes
intent upon Doak — now sitting by the closed door
— or else glancing about the hall to see if any one
were approaching his place of concealment.

When Doak was again summoned within the room,
Gilbert thought to improve the chance for making his
escape; but seeing that the door was open a few
inches, he concluded to wait. Then he saw the
fisherman come out with the prisoner, and he uttered
a low curse when the young man turned to meet the
girl's eyes before the door closed behind him.

Before the sound of their footsteps died away down
the hall, Farmer Gilbert left his hiding-place and

From Kingdom to Colony 333

hastened below, sitting down on the steps to re
place his shoes, as one of the women servants came
along.

" Got a pebble, or summat, in my shoe," he ex
plained, raising his head ; for the girl had stopped,
and was staring at him curiously.

" Did ye have to take off both shoes to find it? "
she asked pertly.

He did not answer, and she passed on to the tap
room, whither he followed her.

Less than an hour after this, as Mary and Dorothy
were in their little parlor, talking over the recent
happenings, the landlady came to announce that
General Washington desired to see them at once.

They observed, as they passed along the hall, that
some fresh excitement seemed to prevail, for they
could see that the taproom was filled with men, many
of whom were talking animatedly.

The door of Washington's room stood open, and
they saw him in earnest conversation with two other
officers, who withdrew as the girls entered.

He welcomed them kindly, although seeming pre
occupied, — as if pressed by some new matter which
disturbed him.

" A messenger has brought information that a
body of the enemy is coming in this direction," he
said, speaking quite hurriedly. " It is therefore pru
dent that we go our ways with all proper speed, and
I wish to urge your own immediate departure. I
regret that our routes lie in different directions ; but
I will send the man Doak to escort you, as it appears
he is well known to your family."

334 From Kingdom to Colony

Seeing the consternation in the girls' faces, he
added reassuringly : " There .is no cause for alarm,
for you have ample time to put a safe distance
between yourselves and the approaching British. I
think it probable they will halt for a time here, at the
tavern, for this seems to be their objective point."

"Do you think there is like to be a battle?"
Mary inquired nervously.

Washington smiled at her fears.

" No," he answered. " It is but a moderate-sized
force — probably reconnoitring. We shall, I trust,
have the enemy well out of Boston erelong, without
the risk or slaughter of a battle."

Then he added: "But we are losing valuable time,
and I have something more pleasant than battles
to speak about. I take it, Mistress Devereux," —
and he turned to Mary, — " that your little sister
here has made you aware of what passed between
us but an hour ago?"

" Yes, sir." And Mary stole a side glance at
Dorothy, wondering that the girl should appear so
self-possessed.

" Captain Southorn will go with me to Cambridge,"
he continued, " where his ultimate disposition will
be decided upon."

Dorothy started ; but looking at Washington, she
saw a smile in the kindly glance bent upon her
troubled face.

" He will also meet Lieutenant Devereux there,
and this I deem a desirable thing for all concerned.
So take heart, Mistress Dorothy, and trust that all
will end happily."

From Kingdom to Colony 335

He looked at his watch, and then held out a hand
to each of them.

" Get you under way for Dorchester at once," he
said, " and you shall hear something from me within
the week."

With this he led them to the door and bade them
God speed, warning them once more to make haste
in leaving the inn.

When they had put on their riding-hats, and gath
ered up their few belongings, the two girls left their
room in company with Mistress Trask, who, between
the excitement of seeing her distinguished guests
depart, and the unusual exercise attending the con
cealment of her choicest viands from the approach
ing enemy, was well-nigh speechless.

Emerging from the narrow passage leading to the
main hall of the inn, they encountered a small knot
of men looking curiously at Captain Southern and
the two soldiers guarding him, who were standing at
the foot of the staircase, apart from the others, and
were apparently waiting for orders, while outside the
open door several other men were gathered, in charge
of a dozen or more horses.

As Mary's glance fell upon the young Englishman,
she flushed a little, and holding her chin a bit higher
than before, turned her eyes in another direction —
but not until he saw the angry flash in them.

A faint smile touched his lips as he lifted his hat,
and then an eager look came to his eyes as he saw
the small figure following close behind her, whose
steps seemed to falter as she neared him.

Just then there was a call from above stairs ; and

336 From Kingdom to Colony

as one of the guards ascended hastily to answer it,
Captain Southern said something in a low tone to the
other one — quite a young man — standing beside
him.

He listened, and then shook his head, but hesitat
ingly, as he glanced toward Dorothy, who was look
ing wistfully at his prisoner.

Good Mistress Trask had chanced to overhear
what the Britisher said ; and speaking to the young
soldier, she exclaimed testily: " Fiddlesticks, Tommy
Macklin ! Why not let him speak a word to the
young lady, when he asks ye so polite-like? What
harm can come of it? They be old acquaintances."

Tommy seemed to waver; but being a good-
hearted young fellow, as well as standing somewhat
in awe of the landlady, who was a distant relative, he
made no farther objection, and nodded his consent.

Southern gave Mistress Trask a grateful smile, and
stepping quickly to where Dorothy was standing,
took her hand and led her a few steps away from the
others, as he asked in a low voice, " Do you know
what is to be done with me, sweetheart?"

" Only that you are to go to Cambridge," was the
hurried reply.

" I knew that much myself," he said smilingly.
"But what is the meaning of all this sudden stir? "

" They say the — British are marching toward the
inn," she whispered, her mind troubled by the fear
that she had no right to give him this information.

He drew a quick breath; and she readily divined
the thoughts that caused him to frown, and bite his
lips.

From Kingdom to Colony 337

" General Washington said you would meet my
brother at Cambridge, and that it was best to — best
for — that it was important for you to see him," she
added stammeringly, while her color deepened.

The scowl left his face, and he smiled at her in a
way to make her eyes seek the floor.

" Aha! did he, indeed? Well then, no doubt it is
best that I am going to Cambridge, and as soon as
may be. But," with some anxiety, " what think you
this brother of yours will say to me, or will a bullet
be all he will have for my hearing?"

"No, indeed no!" Dorothy exclaimed. "Jack
would never show you unkindness, for he knows —
he well knows, because I told him — "

" Do you mean to say," he asked quickly, cutting
short her words, " that your brother has known all
this time the blessed truth that I learned only this
very morning?"

" He only knew of it just before he left home in the
summer," she whispered. " I had to tell him."

" Why? "

" I was afraid you and he might meet, and I was
fearful that — " The voice died away, and Dorothy's
head drooped.

" Sweetheart," he said softly, " I understand. You
must have been sadly torn betwixt your love and
what you thought to be your duty. It makes me
realize more keenly what a brute I have made of
myself. But trust me — only trust and believe in my
honor and true love, and I will try all my life to make
amends for the suffering I have caused you."

Washington and his suite were now descending the

338 From Kingdom to Colony

stairs, and Tommy Macklin hastened to place him
self closer to his prisoner as the other soldier joined
him.

Then Southern turned to Dorothy and said : " It is
evident that we are about to leave. Tell me quickly
as to your own movements, — you surely are not
going to stop here?"

" Oh no ; Mary and I are to set out right away for
Dorchester, and Fisherman Doak is to see us safely
housed with Mistress Knollys."

" You will go at once," he insisted, " and not delay
a second? "

She nodded smilingly, and their eyes spoke the
farewell their lips were forbidden to utter.

Mary had been standing all this time alongside
Mistress Trask, her face studiously averted from
the two at whom nearly all the others were staring
wonderingly.

She now came forward, and without looking at
Captain Southern, joined Dorothy; and in com
pany with the landlady they passed through the
door into the midday sunlight flooding the world
outside.

Washington and those with him were the first to
leave, — their departure being witnessed by every one
at the inn.

The two girls were now standing side by side in
the doorway; and Captain Southern, on horseback,
with a mounted guard on either side of him, smiled
again as his glance fell on Mary's spirited face, and
at the thought it awakened of that morning at the
Sachem's Cave.

From Kingdom to Colon 339

"They be goin' to take the spy to Cambridge,
to hang him," muttered Farmer Gilbert to Mistress
Trask, his restless eyes roving from the sweet young
face in the doorway to that of the young man sitting
upon the horse.

" No such thing," said the landlady, with an indig
nant sniff. " He is a prisoner, but there 's no further
talk o' hangin'."

"Who says so?" and the farmer's scowling brows
grew blacker.

" The young ladies say so, an' they both know him
— knew him long ago."

" Aye, that I '11 be bound, as to one of 'em, at any
rate," he growled, eying Dorothy savagely. The
girl's face was telling her secret, while she stood
watching her husband turn for a parting smile as he
rode off with the others.

"Where do she live?" Gilbert asked suddenly,
jerking his thumb toward the doorway, in front of
which Doak was now standing with the horses.

" Down at Marblehead, when they be at home ; both
of 'em live there," the landlady answered. " But
they be stoppin' at Dorchester now, with friends, an'
there 's where they 're bound for." With this she
turned away, her manner showing that she desired
no further parley with him.

The man stood for a few moments, as if reflecting
upon what he had heard. Then, with one more
glance at the two girls, he turned slowly about, and
took his way to the stables of the inn.

340 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER XXXI

DOAK and his charges had gone but a short dis
tance when the sound of hoofs behind them
caused all three to turn, wondering who might be
approaching.

It was a man, evidently an American by his appear
ance ; and as they looked back at him, he seemed to
check the hitherto brisk gait of his horse.

Dorothy was the first to recognize him.

"Oh, Mary, 'tis that dreadful man who fright
ened us ! "

"Frightened ye?" echoed Doak, interrogatively.
" How was that, mistress? "

When Mary explained what had taken place the
night before, he glanced back again, and saw that
the distance between them was rapidly increasing,
for the man in the rear was letting his horse walk,
while he sat swinging loosely in the saddle.

" There be naught to fear now," he said, in a way
to reassure the two girls. " He 's not like to think
o' tryin' any frightenin' game with me. An' he rides
like he had too much store o' liquor aboard to be
thinkin' of aught but keepin' firm hold on his craft."
Then, when he had looked again, " He be fallin' way
behind, so there 's no call for bein' fright' ed, either
one o' ye."

They soon lost sight of the stranger, and without
further happening arrived safely at their destination,

From Kingdom to Colony 341

to receive a motherly welcome from Mistress Knollys,
who had been most anxious concerning them, know
ing how the roads were infested with stragglers from
both armies.

She insisted upon Doak alighting to take some
refreshment ; and he, nothing loath, did so, while she
wrote a letter to her son for the fisherman to carry
back to Cambridge.

Dorothy and Mary also improved the opportunity
to write to Jack, Dot even venturing to enclose a
little missive for Captain Southern, which she begged
her brother to deliver.

It was her first love letter, although so demure and
prim in its wording as scarcely to deserve that name.
But a loyal affection breathed through it, praying
him to hope, and to trust in Washington's friendship
for them.

Mistress Knollys listened with widening eyes to
Mary's account of their interview with the great man,
— for she invested him with all the power of His
Gracious Majesty, and regarded him with more awe
than ever she had King George himself.

She laughed outright over the description of their
having been caught in his apartments, and asked to
see the paper he had given Dorothy, touching it as
something most sacred.

Dorothy had gone above stairs, leaving Mary and
the good woman together in the living-room, where
the afternoon sunshine poured across the floor in
broad slants from the two windows opening upon the
garden at the rear of the house.

Presently Mistress Knollys said, " It would seem,

342 From Kingdom to Colony

my dear, to be the very best outcome for Dorothy's
matter, the way things have befallen."

" Yes," Mary assented with a sigh, " so it does."

"And yet," added the old lady, " I fear it will be
hard for the little maid, with a brother and husband
fighting against one another."

" Ah, but you forget, dear Mistress Knollys, that
he told her he thought of setting sail for his home
in England."

" And then I suppose she would go with him."

" Aye ; " and Mary sighed again. " I think she will
surely wish to do this."

" Well, well, my dear," said Mistress Knollys,
speaking more briskly, " that is not like to be right
away, as he must await his exchange as a prisoner,
and there's no telling when that will come to pass.
Let us borrow no trouble until we know the end,
which, after all, may be a happy one."

It was the fourth day after this that Mary was
gladdened by the sight of her husband riding up in
front of Mistress Knollys' door ; and with him were
Hugh and a dozen other stout fellows on horseback.

He explained that they had but a short time to
tarry, and were come at Washington's command, to
carry Dorothy back with them to Cambridge.

" Hey, you little mischief, see the stir you are
guilty of making, — getting half the camp by the ears
with your goings on," he said laughingly, and in a
way to set at rest all her misgivings, as he took her
in his arms.

"But what am I to go to Cambridge for?" she
asked rather nervously, still with her arms around his

From Kingdom to Colony 343

neck, and holding back her head to get a better look
at his face, in which a serious expression seemed to
be underlying its usual brightness.

"Did I not tell you, — because General Washing
ton sent us to fetch you ? But come," he added more
gravely, " we must get away at once. Hasten and get
yourself ready and I will tell you all as we ride along."

" Had I not better go with her ? " asked Mary,
when Dot had left them.

Her husband shook his head. " No, it was only
Dot we were to bring."

" But for her to go alone, with a lot of men — "
Mary began.

He put an arm around her shoulder as he inter
rupted her remonstrances.

" She goes with her brother, sweetheart, and to
meet her husband."

"But she is coming back?" And Mary spoke
very anxiously.

"Aye, she '11 return sometime to-morrow; but for
how long is for herself and the other to decide."

Then he explained : "The British have a man of
ours, one Captain Pickett, a valiant soldier, with a
stout arm and true heart. They have had him these
three months, a prisoner in Boston, and we have
been most anxions to bring about his exchange.
General Washington has now arranged this through
Southern, who is to return to-morrow to Boston, and
Captain Pickett is to be sent to us. After that, as I
have said, we have no right to dictate Dorothy's
movements. Captain Southorn has told me that he
should return to England as soon as may be."

344 From Kingdom to Colony

" Then," said Mary in a tone of conviction, and the
tears springing to her eyes, " Dot will go with him."

" Aye, belike," he sighed, " for they love one
another truly."

" And you, Jack, do you — can you look at and
speak to this man with any tolerance ?" demanded
his wife, the asperity of her voice seeming to dry
away the tears.

" I try to do so, for Dot's sake, and for what he is
to her. I Ve found him to be a gentleman, and a
right manly fellow, despite the prank of which he
was guilty."

" Well, I shall hate him the longest day I live ! "

Mary could say nothing more, for Mistress Knollys
and Hugh now came in from another room, where
they had been together.

Dorothy had passed this room on her way up the
stairs, and seeing Hugh, stopped, while he came for
ward quickly to meet her.

" Oh, Hugh, but I am truly glad to see you once
more ! " she exclaimed. " How long, how very long
it seems since you went away! " And there were
tears shining in the eyes she raised to his face.

He clasped both her extended hands, and remind
ing himself of all he had heard, strove to hide his
true feelings, while his mother, from the room back of
them, watched the two in silence, still seeming to hear
the cry he had uttered only a moment before, —

" Oh, mother, mother, I feel that my heart will
break ! " .

Dorothy could not but observe the paleness of his
face, and the traces as of recent tears showing about

From Kingdom to Colony 345

the blue eyes; but she attributed these to other
than the real cause, — perhaps to matters arising
between his mother and himself after their long
separation.

" I am glad you have missed me sufficiently to
make the time seem long to you, Dot," he replied,
well aware, in the bitterness of his own heart, of how
little this had to do with her show of emotion.

" Aye, I have missed you very much," she de
clared earnestly. "And so many sad things have
happened since ! "

"Yes — and so many that are not sad," he added
significantly, desiring, since he might be expected to
speak of her marriage, to have it over with.

A burning blush deepened the color in her cheeks.
She drew away the hands he had been holding all
this time, her eyes fell, and she seemed scarcely to
know how to reply.

" I pray God you will be very happy, Dorothy."
And his speaking her full name accentuated the
gravity of his voice and manner.

" Thank you, Hugh," she replied, trying to smile :
then, with a nervous laugh, " And when you return
to Marblehead and see Polly Chine, I hope I may
say the same to you."

The young man forced a laugh that well-nigh
choked him. It had been hard enough to endure
before he saw her. But even when he knew from her
brother of her being forced into a marriage with this
Britisher, his heart refused to relinquish all hope,
despite what his friend had told him of Dorothy's
own feeling toward her husband.

346 From Kingdom to Colony

/

But he had still cherished the idea that somehow,
in some way, they might never come together again;
that the Britisher, believing Dorothy to have no love
for him, might sail away to England without her,
should the fortune of war spare him to do this.

He also reckoned — hoped, rather — that the girl
was so young as to recover from any sentiment this
stranger might have awakened within her heart.

But now, in the light of what had come about
and was soon to be, all hope was dead for him.
The sight of the face and form he had never loved so
well as now, — when she seemed so sweet and so
lovable in her newly acquired womanliness — all
this was unnerving him.

With these thoughts whirling through his brain, he
stood looking at her, while he forced such an unnat
ural laugh as made her glance at him nervously and
draw herself away.

" I 'm not like to see the old town for many a long
day, I fear," he managed to say, his voice growing
less strained as he saw the wondering look in her
dark eyes; "and as for Polly Chine, you must
find one more suited to my taste before you've
cause to wish me what I now wish you with all my
heart."

With this he turned hastily away, and his mother
asked, " You are going to get ready to start for
Cambridge, child?"
. " Yes," replied Dorothy, " I must leave at once."

" And can I do aught to help? " the good woman
inquired.

Upon being assured that she could not, she cheer-

From Kingdom to Colony 347

ily bade the girl make haste, and to remember that
she was expected to return the next day.

" I shall miss the child sorely," she said, as the
click of Dorothy's little heels died away on the floor
above.

Hugh said nothing, but sighed heavily, as he
stood looking out of the window with eyes that saw
nothing.

His mother went to him and laid a gentle hand
upon his broad shoulder.

" Oh, my son, my dear son," she said in a trem
bling voice, " my old heart is sore for you. I have
hoped for years that — ".

He whirled suddenly about.

"Don't mother — don't say any more — not now.
Let me fight it out alone, and try to keep such a
bearing as will prevent her from knowing the truth."

Then the passion in his voice died out, and he
caressed her gray hair with a loving touch.

She drew his face down and kissed him.

" Come," she said, with an effort at cheerfulness, —
" come into the other room and have speech with
Mary before you go, else she '11 think we 've lost all
proper sense of our manners. This is the first time
you and she have met since her marriage."

348 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER XXXII

IT was evening when the party reached the head
quarters at Cambridge.

A faint afterglow of the brilliant sunset still lingered,
but the roadway leading to the entrance of the house
was dusky with the shadows of coming night, which
almost hid the great trees on either side.

The air about was filled with the faint hum of
camp life. Occasionally a voice could be heard, or
the neighing of a horse, — figures of men were dis
cernible here and there, and a sentry was pacing
before the steps of the mansion.

" Here we are, Dot," said her brother ; and dis
mounting, he helped her from her horse. " Careful,
child;" for she had tripped, her riding-skirt having
become entangled about her feet as she followed him
into the open doorway. " I will take you directly to
the room prepared for you, and do you wait there
until I return."

She said nothing, but held fast to his arm.

" Come, be brave," he whispered ; " there is naught
for you to fear." And he led her within, leaving
Hugh Knollys with the other men outside.

The hall was spacious and well lighted. Several
officers and privates were moving about, all of whom
stared wonderingly at the unusual sight of a lady, —
although it was not easy to decide whether it was a

From Kingdom to Colony 349

woman or child — this dainty little figure in the rid
ing-habit, who was looking about with unconcealed
curiosity.

Far down the hall, to the left, her brother opened
a door, showing a spacious, well-furnished chamber,
where a wood fire was blazing, — for the night was
drawing in chilly.

" Now take off your hat, child, and feel at home,"
he said, kissing her. " Remember there is naught to
fear. It is only that we are wishing to fix matters for
you, little one, so that you'll be happy." And he
kissed her again as she clung to his neck.

" Ah, Jack," she whispered, " you are so good
to me ! "

" I Ve never had the wish to be other than good,"
he replied lovingly.

As soon as she was alone, Dorothy removed her
hat, and then, as she stood by the hearth, watching
the leaping flames, smoothed out her curls.

So engaged, and lost in thought, she did not hear
the tapping upon the door, nor see that it opened
softly and a man's figure paused on the threshold, as
if watching the slight form standing by the fire, with
the back turned squarely to him.

" Little one," came in a voice that startled the
silence.

She turned like a flash, and although the firelight
did not touch his face, it was not needed to tell her
who it was.

He closed the door, and advanced with outstretched
arms, laughing with exultation when she fled to them.

"You are still of the same mind as when we

350 From Kingdom to Colony

parted ? " he said, while he held her as if never mean
ing to let her go from him again.

" How can you ask? " And she nestled yet closer
to him.

His only answer was to kiss her. Then, bringing a
chair to the hearth, he seated himself, and attempted
to draw her upon his knee. But she frustrated this
by perching herself upon the arm of the chair, from
which she looked triumphantly into his face.

" Your hands are cold, little one," he said, holding
them against his cheek.

" We had a long ride," she replied, her eyes droop
ing before the intensity of his gaze.

" Aye, so you did ; are you tired? "

" No, not at all," was her smiling answer, and her
appearance did not belie the words.

"Hungry?" — with a little laugh, and tightening
the clasp of his arm about her.

" No," again lifting her eyes to his happy face.

" Well, I have been hungry for days, and with
a hunger that is now being happily appeased. But a
supper is to be ready for you shortly, and then you
are to see General Washington. Do you understand,
sweetheart, what all this is about? " He was looking
down at the small hands resting in one of his own,
and smiling as he noted with a lover's eye, how dainty
and white they were.

" Yes," she said, " my brother explained all that
to me."

" And you will come with me — now, at once, as
soon as I can make my arrangements? " He spoke
hurriedly, nervously.

From Kingdom to Colony 351

" To England ? " she asked, a very serious look
now showing in her dark eyes.

" Aye, to England," he repeated in a tone whose
firmness was contradicted by his perturbed face.

Disengaging one hand, her arm stole around his
neck as she whispered, " I would go to the ends of
the earth with you now."

He held her head away, the better to look into
her face, as he said with a sigh of contentment:
" Now I can breathe easy ! You see I did not dare
believe you would really come, — you've ever been
such a capricious little rebel."

Presently he asked, as he toyed with her small
fingers, "Where got you all these different rings,
little one?" and a note almost of jealousy sounded
in his voice. " Here be many pretty brilliants — I
thought maids in this country never wore such.
How comes such a baby as you with a ring like
this?" And he lifted her hand to look at the one
which had attracted his special notice.

" My father gave it to me," she said quietly ; " it
was my mother's — whom I never saw."

He pressed his lips to the sparkling circlet. " My
little wife, I '11 be mother, father — all things else
to you. All of them together could not love you
more truly and sacredly than do I. Ah, my darling,
you have but poor knowledge of the way I love
you, and how highly I prize your esteem. How
can you, after the rough wooing to which I treated
you?"

Then he whispered, " And where is the ruby ring? "

He felt her head stir uneasily against his shoulder.

352 From Kingdom to Colony

"Surely you did not throw it away?" he asked
after a moment's waiting.

Dorothy laughed, softly and happily.

" You told me that night at Master Weeks'," she
whispered, " that you did not believe what my lips
said, but what my eyes had shown you."

" Aye, so I did, and so I thought when I spoke.
But until now I Ve been tossed about with such
conflicting thoughts as scarce to know what to
think."

" That may be so," she said, sitting erect to look
at him. " But, believing what you read in my eyes
then and before, think you I would throw away the
ring?"

" Then where is it? " he asked again, smiling at
her earnestness.

For answer she raised her hands to her neck, and
undoing the fastening of a gold chain, drew it, with
the ring strung upon it, from where they had rested,
and laid them both in his hand.

His fingers closed quickly over them as he ex
claimed, " Was there ever such a true little sweet
heart?"

Then lifting her into his lap, he said, " You have
never yet said to me in words that you really love
me. Tell me so now — say it ! "

"Think you that you have need for words?" A
bit of her old wilfulness was now showing in her
laughing eyes.

"Nay — truly no need, after what you have done
for me, and have said you would go home with me.
But there 's a wish to hear such words, little one, and

From Kingdom to Colony 353

to hear you speak my name — which, now that I
think of it, I verily believe you do not even know."

She nodded smilingly, but did not answer.

"What is it?" he asked coaxingly, as he would
have spoken to a child.

"Ah — I know it." And she laughed teasingly.

"Then say it," he commanded with mock fierce
ness. " Say it this minute, or I '11 — "

But her soft palm was against his lips, cutting
short his threat.

" It is — Kyrle," she said demurely.

" Aye, so it is, and I never thought it could
sound so sweet. Now say the rest of it — there 's a
good child. Ah, little one," he exclaimed with sud
den passion, " I can scarcely yet believe all this is
true. Lay all doubt at rest forever by telling me you
love me ! "

The laughter was gone from her eyes, and a
solemn light came into them.

" Kyrle Southern, I love you — I do love you ! "

They now heard voices and steps outside the door,
and Dorothy sprang to her feet, while Captain South-
orn arose hastily from the chair and set it back in
place.

It was John Devereux who entered, followed by a
soldier.

" Well, good people," he said cheerily, giving the
young Britisher a glance of swift scrutiny, and then
looking smilingly at Dorothy, " there is a supper
waiting for this small sister of mine ; and, Dot, you
must come with me — and that speedily, as I am
famishing."

23

354 From Kingdom to Colony

He advanced and drew her hand within his arm;
then turning with more dignity of manner to the Eng
lishman, he added, " After we have supped, Captain
Southern, I will look for you in your room, as General
Washington will then be ready to receive us."

Southorn bowed gravely. Then, with a sudden
boyish impulsiveness, he extended his hand.

" May I not first hear from your own lips," he asked
earnestly , " that you wish me well? "

Jack clasped the hand as frankly as it had been of
fered, and Dorothy's heart beat happily, as she saw
the two dearest on earth to her looking with friendly
eyes upon one another.

From Kingdom to Colony 355

CHAPTER XXXIII

AN hour later the three stood before the door of
Washington's private office ; and in response to
John Devereux's knock, the voice that was now so
familiar to Dorothy bade them enter.

As they came into the room, Washington advanced
toward Dorothy with his hand held out in greeting,
and his eyes were filled with kindness as they looked
into the charming face regarding him half fearfully.

" Welcome," he said, — " welcome, little Mistress
Southern."

At the sound of that name, heard now for the first
time, a rush of color suffused Dorothy's cheeks, while
the two younger men smiled, albeit each with a dif
ferent meaning.

The one was triumphantly happy, but Jack's smile
was touched with bitterness, and a sudden contraction,
almost painful, caught his throat for a second.

" I trust that my orders were properly carried
out for your comfort," continued Washington, still
addressing Dorothy, as he motioned them all to be
seated.

She courtesied, and managed to make a fitting
reply. But she felt quite uncomfortable, and some
what alarmed, to find her small self an object of so
much consideration.

356 From Kingdom to Colony

The Commander-in-Chief now seated himself, and
turned a graver face to the young Englishman.

" May I ask, Captain Southern, if the plans of
which you told Lieutenant Devereux and myself are
to be carried out? "

The young man bowed respectfully.

" I am most happy, sir, to assure you that they are,
and at the speediest possible moment after I return
to Boston."

Washington was silent a moment, and his eyes
turned to Lieutenant Devereux, who, seemingly
regardless of all else, was watching his sister.

" And you, Lieutenant, do you give your consent
to all this?"

" Yes, sir." But the young man sighed.

" And now, little Mistress Southern," Washington
said, smiling once more, " tell me, have you consented
to leave America and go with your husband ? "

" Yes, sir," she replied almost sadly, and stealing a
look at her brother's downcast face.

" It would seem, then, that the matter is settled as
it should be, and to the satisfaction of all parties,"
Washington said heartily. " And I wish God's bless
ing upon both of you young people, and shall hope,
Mistress Dorothy, that your heart will not be entirely
weaned from your own land."

" That can never be, sir," she exclaimed with sud
den spirit, and glancing almost defiantly at her hus
band, who only smiled in return.

" Aye, child — so ? I am truly glad to hear it."
Then rising from his chair, he said : " And now I must
ask you to excuse me, as I have matters of importance

From Kingdom to Colony 357

awaiting my attention, and regret greatly that I can
not spare more time thus pleasantly. You will escort
your sister back to Dorchester in the morning,
Lieutenant?"

" Aye, sir, with your permission."

" You have it ; and you had better take the same
number of men you had yesterday. Return as speedily
as possible, as there are signs of — "

He checked himself abruptly, but swept away any
suggestion of discourtesy by saying, as he held out
his hand to the young Englishman, " I '11 bid you good
night, Captain Southern; you see that it is natural
now to think of you as a friend."

" It is an honor to me, sir, to hear you say as
much," the other replied, as he took the extended
hand and bowed low over it. " And I beg to thank
you for all your kindness to me and to — my wife."

Dorothy now courtesied to Washington, and was
about to leave the room, when he stretched out a
detaining hand.

" Stay a moment, child. I am not likely to see
you again before you depart, and therefore it is
good-by as well as good-night. You will see that I
have endeavored to do what was best for you, al
though I must admit" — and he glanced smilingly
at Jack — " it was no great task for me to bring your
brother to see matters as I did. And now may God
bless you, and keep your heart the brave, true one
I shall always remember."

She was unable to speak, and could only lift her
eyes to the face of this great man, who, notwithstand
ing the weight of anxiety and responsibility pressing

358 From Kingdom to Colony

upon him, had been the one to smooth away the
troubles which had threatened to mar her young life,
and who had now brought about the desire of her
heart.

But his kindly look at length gave her courage,
and she managed to say, although chokingly, " I
can never find words in which to thank you, sir."

He bowed as the three left the room, and no word
was spoken while they took their way down the hall
to Dorothy's apartment.

Jack opened the door and motioned the others to
enter.

" I must leave you now," he said, " and go to see
Hugh Knollys. He is not feeling just right to-night."

" Why, is he ill ? I wondered that he was not at
supper with us." Dorothy spoke quickly, her voice
trembled, and her brother saw that she was weeping.

He followed them into the room and closed the
door. Then he turned to Dot, and taking her by
the hand, asked tenderly, " What is troubling you,
my dear child?"

She gave a great sob and threw herself upon his
breast.

" 'T is because of what he just said — as we left
him. It made me realize that I am soon to go away
across the sea from you — from all of you," she ex
claimed passionately. " Oh — how can I bear it ! "

" 'T is somewhat late, little sister, to think of that,"
her brother replied, caressing her curly head with
the loving touch she had known ever since the child
hood days. Then bending his lips close to her ear,
he whispered, " See — you are making him unhappy."

From Kingdom to Colony 359

At this she glanced over her shoulder at her hus
band, who had walked to the hearth, and stood
looking into the fire.

" Come, little girl, cheer up," said Jack, " for
to-night, at least. You are to have a little visit with
him before he returns to his quarters. And before
to-morrow noon he will be on the road to Boston."

With a long, sobbing sigh, she released him ; then,
as she wiped the tears from her eyes, she said with a
wan smile, " It is hard — cruelly hard, to have one's
heart so torn in opposite ways."

He knew her meaning, and thought, as he went
away, how small was their own grief compared with
that of poor Hugh, who, utterly unmanned, had
immured himself in his quarters.

Dorothy stole to the hearth, where stood the silent
figure of her husband ; and as he still did not speak,
she ventured to reach out and steal a timid hand
within the one hanging by his side.

His fingers instantly prisoned it in a close clasp,
and so they remained for a time looking silently into
the fire. Presently he sighed, and drawing the chain
and ruby ring from his pocket, said very gently,
" Will you wear this ring, sweetheart, until such
time as I can get one more suitable?"

"Aye — but I'd sooner not wear any other," she
replied, looking wistfully at him, — awed and troubled
by this new manner of his.

" Would you ? " And he smiled as he fastened the
chain about her neck. " Then I shall be obliged to
have the half of it taken away, in order to make a
proper fit for that small finger. But you must let me

360 From Kingdom to Colony

put on a plain gold band, as well, so that all may be
in proper form."

She caught his hand and laid it against her cheek,
while the light of the burning wood caught in the
ruby ring, making it gleam like a ruddier fire against
the folds of her dark-green habit.

"Why are you so unhappy?" she asked.

" That I am not, sweet little wife," he answered,
drawing her to him, " save when I see you unhappy."

" But I am not unhappy," she protested, adding
brokenly, " except that — that — "

" Except that you cherish a warm love for kindred
and home, and one it would be most unnatural for
you to be lacking," he interrupted. " But never fear,
little one," — and he stroked her hair much as her
brother had done — " you will not be unhappy with
me, if you love me ; and that you say you do, and so
I know it for a truth — thank God. This war cannot
last very long, and I Ve lost all heart to care whether
King or colony win. To tell the truth," — and he
laughed as he bent over to kiss her — "I fear my
heart has turned traitor enough to love best the cause
of her I love. So it is as well that I send in my
resignation, which is certain to be accepted; and
we'll go straight to my dear old home among the
Devonshire hills, and be happily out of the way of the
strife. And when it is over, we can often cross the
sea to your own home, and perhaps your brother and
his wife — if I can ever make my peace with her —
will also come to us. And so, sweetheart, you see
the parting is not forever — nor for very long."

Thus he went on soothing and cheering her as he

From Kingdom to Colony 361

seated himself again in the big chair by the hearth and
drew her to his knee. Presently, and as if to divert
her thoughts, he said : " Come — tell me something
of your family. I have seen them all, as you know,
but there are two of its members with whom I never
had speech."

Dorothy puckered her brows and looked at him
questioningly.

" They are wide apart as to age," he added, smiling
at her perplexity, — " for one of them is a sweet-faced
old lady, and the other is a lovely little girl with long
yellow locks and wonderful blue eyes. She was with
you that eventful day at the cave." And he laughed
softly at the thought of what that day had brought
about.

" Why, the old lady was Aunt Lettice, and the
little girl is her granddaughter — 'Bitha Hollis, my
cousin."

" She looks a winsome little thing — this 'Bitha," he
said, happy to see the brightness come to Dorothy's
face.

She was smiling, for the names had brought
visions of her dear old home, and she seemed to see
all the loving faces in the fire before her.

" Yes — and she is a dear child, and full of the
oddest fancies." And now Dorothy laughed outright
as some of 'Bitha's queer sayings came to her.

She went on to tell her husband of these; and
when Jack returned half an hour later to escort
Captain Southern to his room, he found the two of
them laughing happily together.

362 From Kingdom to Colony

CHAPTER XXXIV

' I VHE next morning — although at rather a late
•*• hour for her — Dorothy arose, feeling greatly
refreshed by her sound and dreamless sleep.

While she was yet dressing, her brother rapped on
the door, and told her she was to go to the little room
near by, where supper had been served the night
before, and that Dolly — the sutler's wife — would
have breakfast ready for her.

An hour later, as she stood at the open window of
her room, drinking in the fresh morning air, still bear
ing the odor of fallen leaves wetted by the night
damps, she saw her brother, with Captain Southern
and several other men, chatting together a short
distance away.

Jack was the first to turn his eyes in her direction,
and seeing her, he smiled and waved his hand, at
which Captain Southern turned about and hurried
toward her.

He was soon standing under the window, and
reaching up took possession of one of the small hands
resting upon the sill.

For an instant neither of them spoke, but Dorothy's
dark eyes smiled shyly into the blue ones uplifted
to her face.

" And it is really true, " he said at last, with an air
of conviction. " Do you know, little one, that when I

From Kingdom to Colony 363

awakened this morning, I was fearful at first that I 'd
been dreaming it all. But knowing now what I do,
how can I have the heart to go away and leave you
again? Cannot you come to Boston with me now —
this very day? "

She shook her head. "No, no, — I must not do
that. I must go back to Dorchester, to see Mary and
Mistress Knollys once more. And, too" — with a
blush — "I could not go without any raiment besides
this." And she touched the folds of her riding-habit.

He stood a minute as if thinking, and then asked
if she would come out for a short walk.

" Most assuredly," was her smiling response ; and
turning from the window, she was not long in putting
on her hat.

As she was about leaving the room, she noticed her
riding-whip lying on the table where she had tossed
it upon her arrival the previous evening. It was a
gift from her father, and one she prized very highly ;
and fearing that the sight of it might excite the
cupidity of some of the servants, she picked it up,
and then passed quickly out to the porch.

Here she encountered several of the officers whom
she had seen talking with her brother a short time
before. They now drew aside to let her go by,
which she did hurriedly, her eyes lowered under the
shadowy plumes of her riding-hat, and oblivious of
the admiring glances they stole at her.

Many of the inmates of Washington's headquarters
had become acquainted with her little romance ; and
so, unknown to herself, she was an object of much
interest. It was for this reason also, as well as on

364 From Kingdom to Colony

account of the responsibility assumed with regard to
him by Washington himself, that the English captain
was occupying a somewhat unusual position amongst
the American officers.

Finding her brother and husband together, the two
coming to meet her at the porch, Dorothy asked
after Hugh, and was told by Jack that he had gone
with a message to some of the outposts, but would
return shortly.

" And is he well this morning, Jack? "

" Oh, yes," her brother answered lightly. " You
will not go far away, of course," he added, " nor
stay long, else I shall have to come or send for
you."

"Only a short!" distance;" and Captain Southern
motioned to the wood that lay not far from the rear
of the house.

"Who is this Hugh? " he inquired, as they walked
slowly along, the dry leaves crackling under their
feet. " Is he the sergeant, Hugh Knollys, who went
with your brother yesterday ? "

" Yes;" and something in his tone impelled her to
add, " and I Ve known him all my life."

" Oh, yes," he said, knitting his brows a little, as
he kicked the leaves before him, " I remember right
well. It was he I used to see riding about the
country with you so much last summer."

" He is like my own brother," she explained
quickly, not feeling quite comfortable in something
she detected in his manner of speech.

"Is he?" now looking at her smilingly. "And

does he regard you in the same fraternal fashion ? "

t

From Kingdom to Colony 365

" Why, of course," she answered frankly. " Hugh
and I have always known one another ; we have gone
riding and boating together for years, have quarrelled
and made up, just as Jack and I have done. Only,"
and now she spoke musingly, " I cannot remember
that Jack ever quarrelled much with me."

" No, I should say not, from what I 've seen of him,"
her husband said heartily.

By this time they were in the seclusion of the
wood; and now his arma went about her and held
her fast.

" Sweetheart, tell me once more that you love me,"
he said. " I only brought you here to have you tell
it to me again, and in broad daylight."

She rested her head on his arm and smiled up into
his face.

" How many times must I tell you ? "

" With each sweet breath you draw, if you tell me
as many times as I would wish to hear. But this is
certain to be the last moment I shall have to see you
alone, as you are to start for Dorchester, and I for
Boston. And you will surely — surely join me there
as soon as I send you word ? " He spoke eagerly,
and as if fearful that something might arise to make
her change her mind.

" Yes, to be sure I will, — have I not promised ? "

"That you have, God bless you. And you will
let no one turn you from that, little one ? "

"Why, who should?" She opened her eyes in
surprise, and then there came a flash to them. " No,
no, even if every one was to try, they could not do
it now. What is that?"

366 From Kingdom to Colony

She started nervously, and turned her head quickly
about, as they both heard a rustling in the bushes.

" It is only a rabbit or squirrel," her husband said,
" or perhaps a — "

There was the sharp report of a gun close by, and a
bullet grazed his shoulder and struck the tree-trunk
directly over Dorothy's head. The next instant
there came the sound of trampling and fierce strug
gling; and a voice Dorothy knew at once, cried,
" You sneaking dastard, what murder is it you 're
up to?"

" Stop here, little one," said Captain Southern,
calmly, "just a second, until I see what all this
means." And he plunged into the tangled thicket
beside the path in which they had been standing.

But Dorothy followed him closely ; and a few yards
away they came upon Hugh Knollys, towering an
grily over a man lying prostrate on the ground, and
whom Dorothy recognized instantly as the rude fellow
who had so alarmed her at the inn.

At sight of the two figures breaking through the
underbrush, Hugh started in surprise, and a look
which Dorothy found it hard to understand showed
in his face.

"What is it — what is the matter?" Captain
Southern demanded angrily, stepping toward the two
other men.

Hugh did not reply, and now they heard rapid
footsteps approaching.

" Here, this way, — come here ! " shouted Hugh,
who did not appear to have heard the young English
man's question.

From Kingdom to Colony 367

Farmer Gilbert had arisen slowly to his feet, and
did not attempt to escape from the grasp Hugh still
kept upon his arm.

"Oh, Hugh — what is it?" asked Dorothy, look
ing with frightened eyes at his prisoner.

" Never mind now, Dot," he answered hastily, but
his voice softening. "How came you here? You
should not — " Then, with a half-sulky glance as
of apology to the young Englishman, he bit his
lip and was silent.

"We were standing in the path just now," said
Captain Southorn, " when a bullet came so close to
us as to do this ; " and he touched the torn cloth on
his shoulder.

Hugh started. " Then it must have been you he
was shooting at ! " he exclaimed, glancing angrily at
the prisoner.

" The bullet went just over my head and into
a tree," said Dorothy, continuing her husband's
explanation.

" Over your head, Dot ! " cried Hugh. " So close
to you as that ! " And a terrible look came to his
face, — one that revealed his secret to the purple-
blue eyes watching him so keenly. " Oh — my
God ! "

The appearance of several men — soldiers — cut
the words short, and restored Hugh's calmness, for,
turning to them, he bade them take the man and
guard him carefully.

" And I '11 take this gun of yours," he said to him,
" and see to it that you get the treatment you
deserve for such a cowardly bit of work."

368 From Kingdom to Colony

" Wait a bit, till I answers him," said Farmer Gil
bert, now speaking for the first time, as he turned to
face Hugh, and holding back, so as to arrest the
steps of the men who were dragging him away. " I
want to say, young sir, that if ye had n't sneaked up
on me from aback, an' knocked my gun up, I 'd hev
done what I 've been dodgin' 'round to do these five
days past — an' that were to put a bullet through

the head or d d trait'rous heart o' that British spy

in petticoats."

His face was ablaze with passion, and he shook his
clenched fist at Dorothy, who stood looking at him
as though he were a wild beast caught in the toiler's
net.

Captain Southern started forward; but Hugh
motioned him back. Then realizing the full sense of
the fellow's words, he sprang upon him with an oath
such as no one had ever heard issue from his lips.

Falling upon the defenceless man, he shook him
fiercely. Then he seemed to struggle for a proper
control of himself, and asked chokingly, "Do you
mean to tell me that it was her you were aiming at
when I caught you ? "

He pointed to Dorothy, who was now clinging to
her husband ; and even in that moment Hugh saw
his arm steal about her protectingly.

He turned his eyes away, albeit the sight helped
to calm his rage, as the bitter meaning of it swept
over him.

"Aye — it was," the man answered doggedly, nod
ding his bushy head ; " an' ye may roll me o'er the
ground again, like a log that has no feelin', an' send

From Kingdom to Colony 369

me to prison atop it all, for tryin' to do my country a
sarvice by riddin' it of a spy."

The soldiers who were holding him looked signifi
cantly at each other and then at Dorothy, who was
still standing within the protecting arm of the man
they knew to be an English officer, and a prisoner
who had been captured, alone and at night, close to
the spot where the Commander-in-Chief was engaged
in a conference with some of his subordinates.

Despite the fright to which she had been subjected,
the girl was quick to see all this, and the suspicion to
which it pointed. And she now astonished them all
by leaving her husband's side, to advance rapidly until
she stood facing the soldiers and their prisoner, who
cowered away as he saw the flash of her eyes, and
her small figure drawn to its utmost height.

" Do you dare say to my face that I am a British
spy — I, Dorothy Devereux, of Marblehead, whose
only brother is an officer in Glover's regiment? You
lying scoundrel — take that ! " And raising her rid
ing-whip, she cut him sharply across the face, the
thin lash causing a crimson welt to show upon its
already florid hue. " And that," giving him another
cut. " And do you go to General Washington, and
tell him your wicked story, and I doubt not he '11 en
dorse the writing of the opinion I 've put upon your
cowardly face for saying such evil falsehoods of
me!"

"Dot — Dorothy — whatever does this mean?"
It was the voice of her brother, as he dashed to her
side and caught her arm, now lifted for another blow.

She shivered, and the whip fell to the ground,
24

3 jo From Kingdom to Colony

while Hugh ordered the men to take their prisoner
away.

They obeyed, grinning shyly at each other, and
now feeling assured that no British spy was amongst
them.

Captain Southern had stood motionless, looking at
Dorothy in unconcealed amazement. But her quick
punishment of the fellow's insult seemed to have a
good effect upon Hugh Knollys, for his face now
showed much of its sunny good-nature.

The sight of what she had done, no less than the
sound of her voice, had brought back the impetuous,
wilful Dot of bygone days; and he found himself
thinking again of the little maid whose ears he boxed
because of the spilled bullets, years ago.

From Kingdom to Colony 371

CHAPTER XXXV

DOROTHY, speak, — what is it?" her brother
demanded. "Hugh?" and he turned ques-
tioningly, as Dorothy threw herself into his arms.

" He called me a British spy," she sobbed, " and
tried to shoot me ! "

He held her closer, while he listened to Hugh and
Captain Southern as they told him of all that had
passed.

It appeared that Hugh, returning through the
woods from his mission to the outposts, had found
a horse tied not far away from where they were now
standing. This struck him as something unusual;
and looking about, he noticed that the bushes were
trampled and broken in a direction which seemed to
lead toward Washington's headquarters.

Suspecting a possible spy, he had cautiously fol
lowed the plainly marked way, and soon caught sight
of a man dodging about, as if not wishing to be seen,
and so intent upon watching something in front of
him as to be quite unconscious of Hugh's approach.

Stealing as close as possible, Hugh stood silent,
now aware that the man's attention was centred
upon the regular pathway through the wood.

Presently he saw him raise his gun, and feared it
might be Washington himself at whom he was aiming ;
for he knew the Commander-in-Chief was to be abroad

372 From Kingdom to Colony

that morning, and he made no doubt that this was
some emissary of the enemy bent upon murdering
him.

Thinking only of this, Hugh had thrown himself
upon the man, but too late to prevent the discharge
of the gun, although he succeeded in diverting its
aim.

" And saved her life ! " exclaimed Captain Southern
and John Devereux together.

Hugh uttered no word until Dorothy turned to him
suddenly and took his hand, while she looked up at
him in a way that needed no speech.

" Never mind, Dot," he said huskily. " You gave
him a fine lesson, just such as he deserved, and it
does me good to think of it. Only, I 'd like to have
done it myself."

She blushed, and dropped his hand, stealing a
sidewise glance at her husband, who was looking at
Hugh and herself.

Jack was now about to speak ; but Hugh started
quickly, exclaiming, " This will never do ; I am for
getting my duty, and must hurry on and make my
report."

" One second, Hugh," said Jack ; " I have some
thing to say to you."

They walked along together, conversing in low
tones, while Dorothy, with a nervous little laugh,
said to her husband, " Are you afraid of me, now that
you see the temper I possess? "

" Nay, little one," he answered, drawing closer to
her and taking her hand. " You did nothing more
than the circumstances richly provoked. And," with

From Kingdom to Colony 373

a teasing laugh, "I do not forget a certain day, in
another wood, when my own cheek felt the weight of
this same dainty hand's displeasure."

She looked a bit uncomfortable, and he hastened
to add, "And I felt afterward that I, too, received
but my just deserts for my presumption."

" I always wondered," she said, now smilingly,
" what you could think of a young lady who would
rig herself up in her brother's raiment, to roam about
at night ; and who would so far forget herself as to
slap a gentleman in the face, — and one of His
Majesty's officers at that."

He laughed. " Then you must know, sweet wife,"
he answered, as she stood looking down, stirring the
leaves with her boot tip, " that I only loved you the
better, if possible, for it all. It showed you to pos
sess a brave heart and daring spirit, such as are ever
the most loyal to the man a true woman loves. But
for all those same acts of yours, I 'd not have dared
to do as I did ; but I felt that no other course would
lead you to follow the feeling I was sure I read in
your eyes."

John Devereux, who had gone out to the roadway
with Hugh, now called to them.

" Come, both of you," he said ; " it is time to be
off."

" This must be our real good-by, little one." Cap
tain Southern glanced about them, and then put his
arm around Dorothy. " We shall both be leaving
shortly, and I cannot say good-by properly with a
lot of other folk about. Ah," with a shudder, and
holding her up to his breast, " when I think of what

374 From Kingdom to Colony

might have happened, had not your friend Hugh
come upon the scene, it makes it all the harder for
me to let you go again."

" But there is no danger now," she said cour
ageously; "the man is a prisoner. But whatever
could have put such a crazy idea into his head ? "
she asked indignantly.

"Did you never see him before?" her husband
inquired.

" Yes, at the Gray Horse Inn ; " but her brother's
voice, now calling rather impatiently, cut short her
story.

" And will you come when I send word ? " Captain
Southern asked.

" Yes," she whispered.

" Well, thank God it will be but a few days until
then," he said, giving her a parting kiss. " So for
now, my wife, — my own little wife, adieu!"

As they were taking their way to the house, Jack
looked at his watch and scowled a little as he saw the
lateness of the hour. Then he turned to Dorothy, and
inquired, as her husband had done, in regard to her
knowledge of Farmer Gilbert.

She told of all that Mary and herself had seen of
him at the inn ; and her brother's quick perceptions
put the facts together while he listened.

They found gathered before the house an unusual
number of men, in animated conversation ; but as the
three figures approached, they all became silent,
glancing at the new-comers in a way to indicate that
the recent occurrence had formed the subject of their
discussion.

From Kingdom to Colony 375

Some of them now strolled away, while those who
remained — all of them connected with the headquar
ters — drew aside to let Lieutenant Devereux and his
companions pass.

"Do you know if Sergeant Knollys is within,
Harris?" Jack inquired, addressing one of them.

" Yes, I am quite sure you will find him inside."

Turning to another of the men, Jack bade him
have the horses brought at once, and order the escort
to be ready for immediate departure.

" We shall have to hasten, Dot," he said hurriedly,
as they went along the hall. "And," addressing her
husband, " Captain Southorn, I must now turn you
over to Captain Ireson."

" Then I am not like to see you again," said the
young Englishman, as he extended his hand.

" No, I should have gone to Boston with you, to
escort Captain Pickett on his return, but I have orders
to see my small sister safely to the house and care of
our neighbor, Mistress Knollys."

" And when are we to meet again? "

He spoke earnestly, almost with emotion, for he
had come to have a strong affection for this hand
some, high-spirited young Colonist, whose face and
manner so resembled Dorothy's.

"Who can say?" asked Jack, sadly, as the two
stood with clasped hands, looking fixedly at one
another.

" Well, God grant that it be before long, and when
our countries are at peace," exclaimed Southorn.

"Amen to that," answered Jack. "And," in a
voice that trembled, " you will always be good to — "

376 From Kingdom to Colony

The sentence was left unfinished, while his arm stole
about his sister's shoulders.

" As God is my witness, — always," was the solemn
reply.

" And now, Dot," said her brother, with a contented
sigh, and speaking in a more cheerful tone, as if
now throwing off all his misgivings, " you must bid
Captain Southern farewell for a few days, and we
will get under way. But first I have to go with him
and report to Captain Ireson."

She held out both hands to her husband, who bent
over and pressed them to his lips.

"You will surely come when I send?" he asked
softly.

She nodded, looking up at him through her tears.

In half an hour the party of soldiers, with Dorothy
and her brother, took the way to Dorchester, Hugh
appearing at the last moment to say farewell, as his
duty called him in another direction. And it was not
long before a smaller party, bearing a flag of truce,
set out with Captain Southorn, to effect his exchange
for Captain Pickett

The following day Farmer Gilbert was brought
before General Washington, who listened gravely to
his attempted justification. Then, after a stern re
buke, so lucid and emphatic as to enlighten the
man's dull wits, now made somewhat clearer by his
confinement and enforced abstinence, he was per
mitted to go his way.

A week after this, little Mistress Southorn was
escorted to the British lines and handed over to her
waiting husband; and a few days later, a transport

From Kingdom to Colony 377

sailed, taking back to England some disabled officers
and soldiers, as well as a small number of royalists,
who were forced to leave the country for the one
whose cause they espoused too openly.

Dorothy was standing by the ship's rail, alone, her
husband having left her for a few minutes. She was
busy watching the stir and bustle of departure, when
she recognized, in a seeming farmer who had come
aboard with poultry, the pedler, Johnnie Strings.

The sight of his shrewd face and keen little eyes
brought to her mingled feelings of pleasure and alarm,
and, wondering what his mission could be, she hur
ried toward him.

"Oh, Johnnie, is it safe for you to be here?" she
exclaimed, as she grasped his hand.

" Sh-h, sweet mistress ! " he said cautiously. " I
won't be safe if ye sing out in such fashion. Jest ye
get that scared look off yer face, while we talk nat'ral
like, for the sake o' them as stands 'round. Ye see I
was the only one that could risk comin', an' I 'm to
carry back the last news o' ye. But oh, Mistress
Dorothy," and his voice took a note of expostulation,
"however had ye the heart to do it? But o' course
we all know 't was not really yer own doin', arter all.
I tell ye, mistress, that mornin' at the Sachem's Cave
saw the beginnin' of a sight o' mischief."

She passed this by without comment, smiling at
him kindly while she gave him many parting messages
for those at Dorchester, and for Aunt Lettice and
little 'Bitha, and all at the old house.

The pedler promised to deliver them, and then
looking into her face, he sighed mournfully.

378 From Kingdom to Colony

" Aye, but 't is thankful I am, mistress, that yer old
father ne'er lived to see this day."

" Oh, Johnnie, don't say that — how can you?" she
cried impulsively.

He saw the pained expression his words had
brought, and added hastily, as he drew the back of
his hand across his eyes, " There, there, sweet mis
tress, don't take my foolish words to heart, for my
own is so sore this day over all that 's come to pass,
an' that ye should be goin' away like this, that I
scarce know jest what I be sayin'."

Before Dorothy could reply, she saw her husband
approaching; and Johnnie, seeing him as well,
turned to go.

"Won't you wait and speak to him? " she asked, a
little shyly.

" No, no, Mistress Dorothy," was his emphatic
answer, — " don't ye ask that o' me. I could n't
stummick it — not I. God keep ye, sweet mistress,
an' bring ye back to this land some day, when we Ve
driven out all the d d redcoats."

With this characteristic blessing, the pedler has
tened away, and was soon lost to sight amongst the
barrels and casks piled about the wharf.

A few hours later, Dorothy stood with her hus
band's arm about her, watching through gathering
tears the land draw away, — watching it grow dim
and shadowy, to fade at last from sight, while all
about them lay the purple sea, sparkling under the
rays of the late afternoon sun.

Her eyes lingered longest upon the spot in the hazy
distance near where she knew lay the beloved old home

From Kingdom to Colony 379

"How far — how far away it is now," she mur
mured.

" What, little one? " her husband asked softly.

" I was thinking of my old home," she answered,
surprised to have spoken her thought aloud. " And,"
looking about with a shiver, "it seems so far — so
lonely all about us here."

"Are you frightened or unhappy?" he asked,
drawing her still closer to him.

She looked up with brave, loyal eyes, and answered,
as had her ancestress, Anne Devereux, when she and
her young husband were about to seek a new home
in a strange, far-off land, —

" No — not so long as we be together."

Hugh Knollys fell — a Major in the Massachusetts
line — during one of the closing engagements of the
war, and his mother did not long survive him.

John Devereux passed through the conflict un
harmed, and returned to the farm, where he and
Mary lived long and happily, with their children
growing up about them.

They had each summer as their guests an English
man and his wife — a little, girl-like woman, whom
every one adored — who crossed the sea to pay them
long visits. Sometimes the pleasant days found this
Englishman seated in the Sachem's Cave, his eyes
wandering off over the sea; and with him often
would be Mary Broughton's eldest son, and first-born
— Jack, who had his Aunt Dorothy's curling locks
and dark eyes.

The favorite story at such times, and one never

380 From Kingdom to Colony

tired of by either the man or child, was that telling
how in the great war his mother had frightened a
young English soldier so that he fell over the rocks,
and how, soon after this, a certain brave little maid
had hurled the burning lanterns from these same
rocks, to save her brother and his companions from
danger.

The youngster had first heard of all this from
Johnnie Strings, — to the day of his death a crippled
pensioner on the Devereux farm — who never seemed
to realize that the war was over, and who had ex
pressed marked disapproval when 'Bitha, now tall and
stately, had, following her Cousin Dorothy's example,
and quite regardless of her own long-ago avowals,
given her heart and hand to the nephew of this same
British soldier.

With this must end my story of the old town. But
there is another story, — that of its fisher and sailor
soldiers, and it is told in the deeds they have
wrought.

These form a goodly part of the foundation upon
which rests the mighty fabric of our nation. Their
story is one of true, brave hearts ; and it is told in a
voice that will be heard until the earth itself shall
have passed away.

It was the men of Marblehead who stepped forward
that bitter winter's night on the banks of the Dela
ware, when Washington and his little army looked
with dismayed eyes upon the powerful current sweep
ing before them, and which must be crossed, despite
the great masses of ice that threatened destruction

From Kingdom to Colony 381

to whosoever should venture upon its roaring flood.
They were the men who responded to his demand
when he turned from the menacing dangers of the
river and asked, " Who of you will lead on, and put
us upon the other side?"

The monument that commemorates the success at
Trenton is no less a tribute to the unflinching cour
age and sturdiness of the fishermen of Marblehead,
who made that victory possible.

And, as there, so stands their record during all the
days of the Revolutionary struggle. Wherever they
were — on land or water — in the attack they led,
in the retreat they covered; and through all their
deeds shone the ardent patriotism, the calm bravery,
the unflinching devotion, that made them ever faith
ful in the performance of duty.

" When anything is done,
People see not the patient doing of it,
Nor think how great would be the loss to man
If it had not been done. As in a building
Stone rests on stone, and, wanting a foundation,
All would be wanting ; so in human life,
Each action rests on the foregone event
That made it possible, but is forgotten,
And buried in the earth."

When the dawn of peace came, nowhere was it
hailed with more exultant joy than in Marblehead.

Nowhere in all the land had there been such sacri
fices made as by the people of this little town by the
sea. Many of those who had been wealthy were now
reduced to poverty, — their commerce was ruined,
their blood had been poured out like water.

382 From Kingdom to Colony

But for all this there was no complaining by those
who were left, no upbraiding sorrow for those who
would never return. There was only joy that the
struggle was ended, and independence achieved for
themselves and the nation they had helped to create.
And down the long vista of years between their day
and our own, the hallowed memory of their loyalty
shines out as do the lights of the old town over the
night sea, whose waves sing for its heroes a fitting
requiem.

THE END

ffiittitw*

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From Kingdom to Colony.

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